Check Your Priorities

In a survey by Booz & Company, 64% of executives said that "their biggest frustration factor is having too many conflicting priorities." That is easy to understand and even relate to especially when most all of us are faced with limited time and resources. If we had unlimited time and unlimited resources, their would be no frustration because we would have the means to accomplish all of our priorities (there would be no conflict).

It is easy to get frustrated as you face work/life balance issues. Because we have limited time and resources we are torn between the conflict of taking care of things at work as well as having quality "acts" in our relationships; not to mention taking care of ourselves.

As we say in our book, "Juggling Elephants" you have to pick and choose, because there are no shortages of acts that can be a part of your circus. The secret is to be proactive, prioritize and plan what activities you are going to include in your life rather than, a) being frustrated as priorities come into conflict or b) allowing nature or someone else to determine what YOUR priorities are.

The same goes for organizations. There would be a lot fewer frustrated executives if leadership would better define strategy and priorities thus reducing conflicting possibilities. Creating a personal or organizational strategy is not easy. It takes time and energy (two limited resources). But the investment is worth it in the long run.