Life is what happens...

When you're making other plans, according to the saying. We've been saying for as long as Manager Tools has existed that your priorities need to be on your calendar.

First, of course, you need to know what your priorities are. It might already be February, but on the other hand, it's only February. It's not too late to decide what your priorities are. There's not enough space here, but we tell you how to do this in the Time Management cast (which is really about priority management, since time management is a fallacy).

Then you need to make sure your priorities are on your calendar. When we talk about rolling out the Trinity, we always say, start three weeks from now - because three weeks from now, your calendar is empty. You'll nearly be in March, but that's ok, because it's better than realizing you haven't done anything on your priorities in October!

Here's what happens though: you get your priorities on your calendar (that's the plan) and then life happens. You have meetings, off-sites, days when the kids are at home, days when someone's on vacation and you have to move a meeting, you get sick, other people get sick or some big new project gets dropped on your lap. And then you have to move everything.

The secret though, of being the one who survives all that, and still gets your priorities done, is having it on your calendar. I just spent a hour rearranging next month's calendar and no priorities got lost. Each time I wanted to use a slot, because the priority was on the calendar, I was forced to think 'is this the most important use of that time?'. It took longer, but we'll get to the end of March with progress made on our priorities.

And, lest you think this is mundane; this is what the people who get results do. They know what their priorities are and they make sure they achieve them.

How I Used It

Some time ago, we asked listeners to post on the forums about the specific ways they'd used guidance from the podcasts and how it worked out for them.

It's built into a great list of what can be done, with a little knowledge and the willingness to try something new. Read more here.

Please Forward This Newsletter

Those of you who have premium content know that use of that content is only for that particular member. This newsletter is not premium content, and we'd love for you to forward it to anyone who would find it interesting and useful. You just need to click the link at the bottom of the page.

If someone forwarded it to you, and you'd like your own copy in future, become a Manager Tools member here. It's free!