First Things First

"I learned that we can do anything, but we can't do everything...at least not at the same time. So think of your priorities not in terms of what activities you do, but when you do them. Timing is everything."
  --- Dan Millman

How often we are called away from the main thing to address a trifle thing. We all do it and while doing it, we believe we are making a significant difference in our day of business. We see these little fires that need dousing as priorities when in fact we are creating more pressure and urgency on the "main thing."

Getting past these obstacles is not easy. The only way for some of us to release the temptation to swat at these small gnats is to have a plan of action to follow --- a system for handling our daily activities.

"Money isn't the most important thing in life, but it's reasonably close to oxygen on the "gotta have it" scale."
  --- Zig Ziglar

During major catastrophes such as hurricanes, terrorist attacks, tornadoes, and war confrontations, rescue workers use a system known as S.T.A.R.T. which stands for Simple Triage, Rapid Treatment, a system that rescuers follow in mass casualty incidents to determine which victims receive immediate treatment and care and which ones are labeled as deceased.

The system helps to take all emotions out of determining who lives and who is left as dead. It uses colors like red for immediate care, yellow for delayed care, green as walking wounded, and black as dead.

"Don't be a time manager, be a priority manager. Cut your major goals into bite-sized pieces. Each small priority or requirement on the way to the ultimate goal becomes a mini goal in itself."
  --- Dennis Waitley

We can also apply a system like S.T.A.R.T. to help us prioritize our day. Such a system will help us to take all emotion out of play and allow us to see tasks as those that need our attention right now (red) , those that can wait (green and yellow), and those that we don't need to fool with, (black).

The system we choose to use is really up to us. It makes no difference what system we use as long as it is one that we follow and one that keeps us on track to get the important tasks completed first without regard to who is yelling the loudest or to what is on fire.

"You can't move so fast that you try to change the mores faster than people can accept it. That doesn't mean you do nothing, but it means that you do the things that need to be done according to priority."
  --- Eleanor Roosevelt

If we were to analyze our day, we will probably find that we are spending way too much time on trying to resuscitate the dead and little time on helping those who have a chance to live. Whether it is the Franklin/Covey system, or a Daytimer system, be sure to implement one today. You can address the issue of tweaking it as you go, but the idea is to start now so that you can get the things done that propel your business forward without being interrupted with items that impede your progress.

"The heavens themselves, the planets and this centre observe degree, priority and place."
  --- William Shakespeare

Prioritize your day before the day begins. Some successful business people prioritize the day or night before so that they have a roadmap to follow the next day. Use a similar system to help you to focus on your priorities of the day.

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