Productivityist

Define Your Days | Filter Your Focus | Make Every Moment Matter

  • Start Here
  • Read The Blog
  • Listen to The Podcast
  • Join TimeCrafting Trust Premium

STOP TRYING TO MANAGE YOUR TIME. START CRAFTING IT.

This guide gives you the simplest and fastest way to start crafting your time.

Get The TimeCrafting Starter Kit for FREE now!

The Priority Puzzle

by Mike Vardy

This week I put my nose to the grindstone to try to get as much done ahead of time as possible so I could spend my time at BlogWorld in New York City actually being at BlogWorld in New York City. In doing so, I managed to get a lot of posts scheduled for both Lifehack and at this very weblog, prepare 3 podcasts that will go live between now and June 11 and a whole lot more.

But I noticed something while I was doing the big push this week. I noticed that by laying all of my tasks out there for me to deal with in a short time span that I was able to not only get an idea of what to do now – but also what I want to be doing later and what I don’t want to have to do again.

I saw that some desires had become obligations. I saw that some tasks had indeed become projects – bigger than I’d wanted them to be and unwieldy as a result. I saw that there was light at the end of the tunnel.

I saw clearly.

This wasn’t a “brain dump”at all. It was more like a “priority puzzle” in that I dumped out the giant jigsaw puzzle of my current life and decided what pieces needed to be dealt with first. That way I could fit the other pieces in easier later.

I’m not advocating making this a regular habit. But like the Weekly Review (another GTD staple), doing this kind of thing every once in a while might just clear things up for you. I know it did for me and the path is filled with far less debris than it was before. I’m feeling a whole lot better about where I’m at as I leave for BlogWorld. I’m feeling that I’ll be able to be as completely together in New York City as the pieces of my priority puzzle are here.

And that’s a really great feeling to have.

Photo credit: Susy Morris (CC BY-ND 2.0)

About Mike Vardy

Mike Vardy is a writer, speaker, productivity strategist, and founder of Productivityist. He is the author of The Front Nine: How to Start the Year You Want Anytime You Want and The Productivityist Playbook.

Categories: Intention and Attention

  • Apps
  • Articles
  • Best of
  • Books
  • Gear
  • Intention and Attention
  • Mode-Based Work
  • Routines
  • The Podcast
  • Time Theming

Categories

Productive Conversations

Most Popular Posts

How to Make Monday Work for You

3 Things You Should Put On Your Calendar

The One Email Trick That Keeps My Inbox In Shape

Using Energy Levels as Contexts

The One Email You Must Send Before You Go on Vacation

As Seen In

As Seen In

Copyright © 2023 · Expert Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Derivative Works Policy
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube