In 1970, sociologist Dr Edward Banfield of Harvard University wrote a book entitled The Unheavenly City. He described one of the most profound studies on success and priority setting ever conducted.
Banfield’s goal was to find out how and why some people became financially independent during the course of their working lifetimes. He started off convinced that the answer to this question would be found in factors such as family background, education, intelligence, influential contacts, or some other concrete factor. What he finally discovered was that the major reason for success in life was a particular attitude of mind.
Banfield called this attitude “long time perspective.” He said that people who were the most successful in life and the most likely to move up economically were those who took the future into consideration with every decision they made in the present. He found that the longer the period of time a person took into consideration while planning and acting, the more likely it was that they would achieve greatly during their lives.
Long-term perspective
For example, one of the reasons your doctors are among the most respected people universally is because they invested many years of hard work and study to finally earn the right to practise medicine. After university courses, internship, residency and practical training, some doctors may be more than 30 years old before they are capable of earning a good living. But from that point onward, these men and women are some of the most respected and most successful professional people in their communities. They had long time perspectives.
Setting priorities
The key word, then, to keep in mind when you are setting priorities is SACRIFICE. Setting priorities usually requires sacrificing present enjoyment for future enjoyment. It requires giving up a short-term pleasure in the present in order to enjoy a far greater and more substantial pleasure in the future.
The essential key to success in setting priorities is having a long time perspective. You can tell how important something is today by measuring its potential future impact on your life.
Economists say that the inability to delay gratification—that is, the natural tendency of individuals to spend everything they earn plus a little bit more, and the mind-set of doing what is fun, easy and enjoyable—is the primary cause of economic and personal failure in life. On the other hand, disciplining yourself to do what you know is right and important, although difficult, is the highroad to pride, self-esteem and personal satisfaction.
Dr Scott Peck say that delaying gratification is a process of scheduling the pain and pleasure of life in such a way as to enhance the pleasure by meeting and experiencing the pain first and getting it over with. It is the only way to live.”
So setting priorities begins with your deciding what you want most in life and then organising your time and activities so that everything you do is the most valuable use of your time in achieving those objectives. With your larger, long-term priorities in order, you can much more easily decide upon your short-term priorities.
Prioritising
You can say that the process of setting short-term priorities begins with a pad of paper and a pen. Whenever you feel overwhelmed by too many things to do and too little time in which to do them, list all those tasks you need to accomplish. Although there is never enough time to do everything, there is always enough time to do the most important things, and to stay with them until they are done right. Peter Drucker once said, “Efficiency is doing things right, but effectiveness is doing the right things.” And this requires thought.
Once you have listed your tasks, ask yourself this question: “If I were to be called out of town for a month, and I could finish only one thing on this list, which one thing would it be?” Think it through, and circle that one item on your list. Then ask yourself: “If I could do only one more thing before I was called out of town for a month, what would it be?” This then becomes the second thing you circle on your list.
Perform this exercise five or six times until you have sorted out the highest priorities on your list. Then number each according to its importance. With these priorities, you are now ready to begin working effectively toward the achievement of your major goals.
Another popular method for setting priorities on your list, once you have determined your major goals or objectives, is the A-B-C-D-E method. You place one of those letters in the margin before each of the tasks on your list.
“A” stands for “very important; must do; severe negative consequences if not completed.”
“B” stands for “important; should do; but not as important as my ‘A’ tasks, and only minor negative consequences if not completed.”
“C” stands for “nice to do; but not as important as ‘A’ or ‘B,’ and no negative consequences for not completing.”
“D” stands for “delegate, or assign to someone else who can do the task in my place.”
“E” stands for “eliminate, whenever possible.”
When you use the A-B-C-D-E method, you can very easily sort out what is important and unimportant. This then will focus your time and attention on those items on your list that are most essential for you to do. Once you can clearly see the one or two things that you should be doing, above all others, just say no to all diversions and distractions and focus single-mindedly on accomplishing those priorities.
Much stress that people experience in their work lives comes from working on low priority tasks. The amazing thing is that as soon as you start working on your highest-value activity, all your stress disappears. You begin to feel a continuous stream of energy and enthusiasm. As you work toward the completion of something that is really important, you feel an increased sense of personal value and inner satisfaction. You experience a sensation of self-mastery and self-control. You feel calm, confident and capable.
Six ideas
Tracy offers six ideas that you can use, every day, to help you set priorities and to keep you working at your best:
- Take the time to be clear about your goals and objectives so that the priorities you set are moving you in the direction of something that is of value to you. Remember that many people scramble frantically to climb the ladder of success, only to find that it is leaning against the wrong building.
- Develop a long time perspective and work on those things in the present that can have the greatest positive impact on your future. Maintain your balance in life by setting priorities in the areas of your health, your personal relationships and your financial goals.
- Make the commitment to improve those aspects of your life that are most important to you utilizing your best practical knowledge.
- Be sure to take the time to do your work right the first time. The fewer mistakes you make, the less time you will waste going back and doing it over.
- Remember that what counts is not the amount of time that you put in overall; rather, it is the amount of time that you spend working on high-priority tasks.
- Understand that the most important factor in setting priorities is your ability to make wise choices. You are always free to choose to engage in one activity or another, but once you have chosen, you must accept the consequences of your choice.
Resolve today to set clear priorities in every area of your life, and always choose the activities that will assure you the greatest health, happiness and prosperity in the long term. The long term comes soon enough, and every sacrifice that you make today will be rewarded with compound interest in the great future that lies ahead for you.
BY CAPT SAM ADDAIH
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