Priorities

At any point in my life, I’ve often felt like I had too much to do and not enough time to complete it. Feeling overwhelmed, I tried to push things, hoping to have more time once I’m “done”. Unfortunately, whenever I’m done with one thing, something else takes its place, and history repeats itself. Additionally, as I grew up, I took on more responsibilities. Looking back, I realise I had a lot of time when I was younger. With this perspective, I began to view my duties and goals differently. I believe all of that is very subjective, and handling it is a matter of perspective. I use a few simple techniques to be more productive. It is still a work in progress, and I continue to define a framework that will help me achieve important goals and feel more fulfilled.

Firstly, I prioritise. Knowing what is more critical helps to choose what to focus on. Very likely, I won’t be able to complete everything I want. Maybe getting some rest and watching YouTube will win the competition over some of the activities. Firstly, some things can’t be compromised, like family duties and a daytime job. Planning work is easy. Planning specific activities during working hours can be somewhat complicated, but for this analysis, I treat a job as a 37.5h/week activity that cannot be divided. Activities about the family are a bit more complicated because it is hard to predict everything that will need time investment. Looking after my daughter is something that cannot be compromised, and I can pretty much plan because of her sleeping patterns. Next, I would keep my house and car tidy. Additional commitments, such as side projects, would take the next place on the priority list, followed by personal and professional development, including sports, reading articles about psychology, philosophy, and programming. Leisure would be the last, but sometimes a mid-day nap or a stupid YouTube video needs to find its way up to help my brain and body rest a little bit.

With my priorities in mind, I assess the time available and try to fit the activities accordingly. This is very tricky for two reasons. I tend to underestimate the time, and it has to fit into my family calendar, which is very flexible. I always try to find time for sports, which usually means waking up very early so I’m back before my daughter starts her day. I use my calendar to schedule tasks for specific days and try to follow through on my plans. If it doesn’t work out, I review the calendar to see which of my assumptions were incorrect. Usually, I underestimate the time that something takes, but because most of my activities are routines based on the past, I can predict how long something could take.

Another trick is no regrets. If something pops out of my calendar because something else took its place, I try not to feel bad about it. I’m simply scratching it off, thinking about whether it’s worth keeping for the next week and moving forward.

I try never to push things to tomorrow. It’s rarely a good idea because it accumulates tasks, and eventually, we won’t be able to complete them all. Additionally, what is the chance that if we don’t want to do it today, we will do it tomorrow? I try to accept that if I decide not to do it, it won’t be done, and as I wrote earlier, I move on.

I keep experimenting with all those techniques, and I think I’m getting better at it. I feel productive, and I believe that sticking to it will allow me to achieve much more than if I were going with the flow.