The Balance Collective AMA – Can you share prioritisation tips for when everything feels like a priority?

In this week’s AMA, I was sent a question that maybe you have felt too. When life is full, it can be hard to know where to start! In answering this, however, I’m not just going to give you a list of prioritisation tips!

When everything feels like a priority, how can I prioritise?

Thank you for sending this question through. It comes up often in my work as well as in my life! Today, in answer to this, I am going to lean on someone else, the author Nora Roberts. A few years ago, I came across a thread from someone who was recounting what she learned from a Q&A session. Like so many authors (who happen to be women) Nora Roberts was asked how they juggle writing and raising a family. The answer has really made a difference to me, and I hope, for you too!

She talked about the juggle that so many of us experience – whilst this was in the context of career and parenthood, this example is relevant to everyone! We all have lots of balls to juggle, but all these balls are not created equally! Some are glass and some are plastic; plastic bounces when dropped, and glass, well smashes. The trick, stated Roberts, was to understand which is which, and to learn only to drop the plastic.
What makes this example so impactful is the detail she continued with. It’s not just a simple thing that work is plastic and family is glass. She breaks it down into very distinct elements, so you have many, many balls to juggle within the category. So, let’s say, a deadline for work is glass but a meeting with a supplier is plastic. Likewise, cooking a freshly made meal is plastic, whilst going to a school play is glass.

The best way to understand what is plastic and what is glass is to predict the consequence of dropping that ball! We can never know, with any certainty, what will happen, but we can usually, based on previous situations, understand the end result of dropping a ball, and use that to define the importance you need to give it.
These definitions and categories are not permanent, plastic and glass will shift over time; and this Nora Roberts believes, is what helps her manage what she must and wants to manage. It’s a compassionate approach to understanding what matters for NOW and what can shift and change. On top of this, is the reality that balls will drop; that isn’t a failure, it’s life! So, I encourage you to look at the ever-evolving responsibility and ask yourself, will it bounce or break?

Hopefully, this will help those looking for new ways to manage the juggle that is life! You can find the previous Ask Me Anything Q&A by following this link. Join Creating Careers to Enjoy to find out about future AMA dates, and to find out how to pose your question!