5 Ways to Prioritize Your Goals

Do you ever feel like you’re spinning on the hampster wheel juggling too many goals? If so, welcome to the popular crowd.  The good news is you have the power to create the solution.  You can intentionally prioritize your goals so you can actually achieve them. 

When you have too many things going on, each thing gets a small portion of your attention.  Typically that means not enough attention to make a difference.  So when you have too many goals, you really don’t achieve any of them.  When you narrow down your focus and attention, you can make magic happen.  When you prioritize your goals, you have more energy and resources to take very intentional steps to achieve them.  

When you’re juggling a family and a household on top of trying to achieve personal goals, you’ve got a mountain to climb and really need to prioritize.  Your family needs you to prioritize.  

Links in this post may be affiliate links.  Read my full affiliate link disclosure here.  

Here are some things you can do if you’re overwhelmed and need some help to prioritize your goals.  

Identify Overlapping Goals

Sometimes there is a natural and logical relationship between goals. Let’s say you want to get healthier and have more leisure time. Think about how you can combine these goals.  Look for active leisure activities like tennis, swimming, or hiking in nature.  If you’re planning to actually use your treadmill this year, don’t count down every grueling minute.  Distract and entertain yourself at the same time.  There is no shame in binge-watching Netflix when you’re pounding the proverbial pavement on the treadmill.  

Other times, two goals seem to be in contrast to one another.  Do your goals include more travel and having more time at home?  To get to the bottom of this one, you need to figure out your why.  Write down each of the goals and why you want to achieve that goal.  You have to be specific.  Keep asking yourself why until you get a very specific answer.  In this example, you might discover what you really want is to be away from your workplace.  So the goal you’re actually looking for is to change careers.  

Prioritize Your Time

Welcome to the world of “I’m too busy”.  

For some sadistic reason, most of us take pride in being too busy.  It makes us feel more important.  I promise you, you’re family will not judge your importance on your busyness.  It’s quite the opposite actually.  

We all tell ourselves there are “only so many hours in a day,” and that we’re “too busy” to take on anything else right now. Your time is precisely that – yours.

Instead of saying “I don’t have time to learn how to cook healthy meals,” try saying, “I’m not making time to learn how to cook healthy meals.” We find the time for the things that matter.

Where your attention goes, energy flows.  So if your thoughts are focused on how much time you don’t have, that is exactly what you will get- not enough time.  But if your thoughts are focused on how you prioritize your time to get what you want, you will get more time to do what you want.  

I’m sympathetic to busy moms because (duh…) we HAVE to take care of our families.  We HAVE to make sure the children survive!  That doesn’t give us an out though.  We just need to get more creative with how we prioritize our time.  

Be Adaptable

If you want to achieve your goals, you have to set timelines and abide by some guidelines.  But you have to be flexible and adaptable when things don’t go as planned.  If you have kids at home, nothing ever goes as planned.  Be prepared to be unprepared.  

There’s an ancient Greek saying that goes: “If you want to make the gods laugh, tell them your plans.”

And there’s a more modern saying that goes: “Tucked my kids in bed and said, ‘I’ll see you in the morning’!  Then we laughed and laughed and saw each other 16 more times before sunrise.”

Use Essential Oils

Yes, essential oils can help you prioritize your goals.  They can help clear your mind and improve your mood.  When you’re in a good mood and you have a clear mind, you can really focus on what’s important to you.  

If you use mediation to help define your goals, essential oils can help deepen your meditation practice.

Using essential oils can eliminate toxins in your body.  When your body and brain are clogged with toxins, you don’t have as much energy and you don’t think as clearly.  A clear mind and an energized body will be much more effective at establishing and reaching goals.  

Top Essential Oils for a Clear and Focused Brain

• Lemon— “The crisp scent of Lemon oil improves one’s ability to focus….It teaches individuals to be mentally present by focusing on one thing at a time.  Lemons dispel confusion and bestow clarity…. Lemon restores energy, mental flexibility, and the drive to complete a project.” *
• Peppermint — “The power of Peppermint can be felt most in the times of discouragement or despair.” *
• Rosemary— “Rosemary assists in the development of true knowledge and true intellect…. It challenges individuals to look deeper than they normally would and ask more soul-searching questions so that they may receive more inspired answers.”  * 
• Grapefruit— “Grapefruit oil assists an individual in listening to their true physical needs and impulses.  It also assists one in taking responsibility for what they feel.”  *
• Frankincense— “Frankincense helps create new perspectives based on light and truth…. Through connecting the soul with its inner light, this oil reveals the truth.”  *

* Excerpts from Emotions and Essential Oils 

 

Use Affirmations

Using affirmations is another way to train your brain and your thoughts to prioritize your goals and live the life of your dreams.  

Your thoughts become your reality.  You have to train your thoughts!  Train them by using affirmations every day.  

Here are a few affirmations to get you started:

• My goals fit perfectly with all areas of my life.
• I plan my work and I work my plan.

• I have what it takes to reach my goals.

• Today, I make magic.

• My energy creates my reality.

• What I focus on is what I will manifest.

• I believe in myself and my ability to succeed.

• My mind is free of resistance and open to the possibilities.

• I can handle anything that comes my way.

• I have the courage to walk my own path and follow my dreams.

Learn more about how you can use affirmations to improve your life in so many ways in You Can Heal Your Life by Louise Hay

If your goals feel like they’re too much, or if they’re diabolically opposed to each other, you need to dig deep and find your why.  Then determine what is most important to you right now.  Then work on one goal at a time.  This is the most simple way to prioritize your goals.  

If you’re having trouble narrowing down your health and wellness goals, it might be time for you to talk to a certified health coach.  

Ready for some more practical tips?  Sign up for my free challenge, Building Stick-to-itiveness.