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Happiness Concierge

Managing Multiple Priorities

Managing Multiple Priorities.

Whose needs comes first, when there are many?

When we ask ourselves what it would take to be a ‘non-negotiable’, we’re able to prioritise.

 

YOU wiLl LEARN

In this module, you’ll learn how to manage multiple priorities.

We’ll cover:

  • Conditions to say ‘yes’

  • Identifying my areas of focus

  • How to manage the expectation

  • Identifying urgent vs important

KEY CONCEPTS in this module

TAKE A MOMENT TO REFLECT BEFORE DISCOVERING

Find managing multiple priorities tricky? You might value these handy thought starters:

  1. It’s our job to clarify our priorities. It’s not our boss’ job, our client's job or our partner's job. If we want to feel in control, it’s our job to clarify what others expect from us first.

  2. There is no ‘perfect’ way to communicate our needs. Some people won’t like it. Because we can’t control other people, how other people respond is theirs to own, not ours.

  3. Saying ‘yes’ to others inherently feels good. However, when we say yes to too many things that aren’t our immediate priorities it can mean we’re not always doing things that are actually in our best interests long-term.

  4. We can’t control how others respond to our priorities or boundaries. When we focus on what we can control, we lower overwhelm, and can focus on just ‘one thing at a time’. We are clear on ‘my needs’ vs ‘other’s needs’.

  5. We are not weak if we find it hard. We are simply learning a skill, just like any other.

 

Let’s get started.

 

CREATING A ‘YES’ LIST (quick exercise)

If we are uncertain how to say no, try this:

What would I need to say yes?

This simple mindset reframe helps us remind ourselves of our key needs, and/or main priorities: helping us educate others on what we need to say yes in the future.

 

FOR ME VS FOR OTHERS (quick exercise)

Feeling thinly stretched?

When you expand and grow you accumulate more responsibility.

This ‘culling’ exercise helps us seperate what is for us, what is for others, and what may no longer be relevant to where you’re going next.

 
 
 

Unsubscribing from busyness.

Something that can stop us from prioritising our own needs is that we might like being busy, or we’re simply used to it. So how to ‘unsubscribe’ from being busy and meeting other people's needs, without worrying about letting others down?

The trick is to start pausing before saying yes, in small ways, to make space for us to actually tune into our own priority list. This helps us practice making space for ourselves and experiencing the results!

Here are a few techniques that help us do that:

  • You don’t need to respond to a request straight away. You can stop to pause before immediately replying to an email. The next time someone asks you a question, invites you to a meeting, or sends you an email, pause for a few seconds until you find yourself being able to tune into your priorities before responding. Give yourself a chance to ‘tune into’ what you need to do before adding more onto your plate.

  • Create a list of ‘non-negotiables’ vs ‘nice to have’ before saying yes. If you aren’t clear on your non-negotiables for the day, this is a great place to start. Creating a column with the two headings and simply checking the things you do each day or think about saying ‘yes’ to is a helpful start!

  • Start small with your ‘no’s’. For example, start saying no to low impact things that have little risk to practice flexing your ‘no muscle’. This’ll free up more time for you. Another way of starting small is to slowly request your preferences. For example, if a friend asks you for coffee, instead of defaulting to yes on the location, ask for a cafe you like, just to practice asking for things you like. 

 
“Of course, you can have more than one important thing in your life — we all do. But we have to ask ourselves, every day, ‘What is the most important thing I need to do today?’”
— Greg McKeown
 

LIVE RECORDING - MANAGING MULTIPLE PRIORITIES

 
 
 
 

DOWNLOAD accompanying MATERIAL

 
 
 

AFTER WATCHING

It’s time to think about your game plan and put your learning into practice.

Here are thought starters to get you going:

What did I notice about this exercise?

What can I archive/say no to, to focus on my most important priorities?

What can I remind myself of when I feel flustered, or frusrtated?

LOOKING FOR MORE?

  • READ: Communicating Your Needs - Happiness Concierge

Questions? Let us know.