Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Priorities... do you set them daily?!

Let's move along.  Next up, we made fabric cuffs to support our study of the topic, Priorities.
I didnt' suggest anything in particular, I just taught them how to make the cuff and put out all the fabric, buttons, stamps and inks for everyone to have a hayday!
One of the most important parts of learning about Priorities was The Pareto Principle.  This means: Focusing your attention on the top 20 percent of all your priorities, you will get an 80 percent return on your effort.  So, if you have 10 things you'd like to accomplish over the ,or on a Tuesday, or next week, you need to spend the majority of your time on the first TWO most important things.   If you do, you will get a big bang for your buck.
I would set up my little computer and use my power point as my teaching points.  Mary Allison spent hours turning my plain jane power point into a really awesome, cutesy pootsy one.  She is a great step-daughter!
With regards to setting priorities, John Maxwell said in his book, MAKE TODAY COUNT, "He is a wise man who wastes no energy on pursuits for which he is not fitted; and he is wiser still who from among the things he can do well, chooses and resolutely follows the best." The more you stay in your strength zone, the greater your productivity and the greater your ability to reach your potential.

I love the way John Maxwell and his team challenge me to be very intentional with my thinking and checking my attitude, and setting my priorities.  For instance, he said, "Evaluate your priorities daily, plan your time carefully, follow your plan, delegate whenever possible, and invest in the right people daily".

As a business owner and leader of a large group, I found this particularly interesting...."We spend priority time with problem people when we should be spending it with potential people."  Ain't that the truth?  The ol' squeaky wheel!  We need to pay attention to our people who actually have potential rather than those who block the entire forward progression and potential of the entire companies.  I am going to make it a point to stop making problem people a priority.  After all, aren't I already committing to making "positive allies" and hanging out with those with positive attitudes?!
Johann Wofgang von Goethe once said, "things that matter most must never be at the mercy of things that matter least."  Ooooooh, I really, really like that!  So, do you put things that are not as important ahead of your family?  Or basically, on a daily basis, are you prioritizing things appropriately?  Those things that matter MOST over those that matter least?
There it is... buckets of fabrics, all just ready for the taking!  I do LOVE me some fabric!
 
Everybody had totally different ideas of what they wanted their cuffs to look like.
And one last thing about prioritizing that I have really used a lot since I taught this class is this. ... if someone can do a job 80% as well as you, delegate it.  I most definitely know that anything at my office that requires computer skills, is most definitely going to be done 80 (to 100%!!) better than I could do it.  And there are more of those "top 20%" things that I could get onto doing if I wasn't being bogged down with things others could help me do.  And so, I have become reallly good at delegating.  I hope you've learned something today about setting priorities.  We'll be talking about (ahem) HEALTH next!

MO

3 comments:

Amy K said...

Another excellent lesson. I usually have my typical to-do list, but just go through it randomly...need to make prioritizing a priority!
Again, thanks for sharing this!

Becky said...

I love these "life lessons!" Thanks for sharing! I DO need to start delegating! Found the 80% part interesting, because I am very much a person who does a lot of things on my own because I want it done MY way. Hmmmm....
thanks for the tips!
Its my baby girl's birthday today... she is 7!!! Gotta go prioritize so I can do what's most important; which is lunch at school with my baby girl!!

Beverly said...

A great lesson for me. I'm 63 and approaching retirement. It is hard to 'move on'. You have give me a lot of food for thought. Can't wait for the next lesson.