What does it mean to prioritize?

At the most basic level, prioritize means to put things in order so that the most important thing is done first. In other words, put first things first. Sounds pretty easy, right? Of course not! We’ve all heard thousands of ways to prioritize our lives. Still, not having a strong method for prioritizing your life continues to be one of the main contributors to lack of success.

So with all these different methods, why do we continue to fall short of our goals and objectives? It all comes down to finding the right method for you! We all strive for different outcomes or results. Because of this, we need to be able to prioritize our specific activities so that they are always aligned with our desired outcome.

How to improve your ability to prioritize

Let’s review how Tony Robbins explains how to meet your goals with massive action planning or prioritizing.

“Once you know the exact result you are committed to achieving, and why you must achieve it, you are now in the state of mind to create the map to get there. Begin by asking yourself what action steps you must take to achieve this specific result. These steps are the basis for your Massive Action Plan or MAP.

Your MAP is the specific activities you must complete in order to produce the outcome you are committed to. Remember two things as you create this plan: 1) There are many ways to achieve a result. If one set of actions doesn’t achieve it, another set will. 2) Throughout your entire list of action items, a small number of them make the biggest difference in your ability to achieve your goal—20% of what you do in life makes 80% of the difference. In other words, most often, you don’t have to accomplish every action item on your to-do list in order to achieve your desired outcome.

Free yourself up by creating a lot of choices, and focus on those ‘must’ actions that will truly make a difference in helping you achieve the result you really are committed to.

Now you are ready to begin executing the steps of your plan and create the extraordinary life you want and deserve. Bring your passion and get started, and you’ll soon find that you’ve created an unstoppable momentum toward your ultimate destiny.” – Tony Robbins via the Change Your Life Now Blog

3 quick tips to prioritize better in any situation

1. Decide the exact result or outcome that you want.

2. Create a step by step list of what you must do to achieve that result. Focus on what really makes the difference!

3. Stay flexible in your approach. Remember that there is always more than one way to achieve a desired result.