Action expresses priorities

Priorities, priorities, priorities, sometimes there are just too many priorities in our lives, and sometimes we need to act to rectify that situation. That's something I find really hard to do, I naturally want to get involved, to help and to be a part of the solution wherever I see a challenge. 

In my day to day working life, and actually also for those home admin related tasks that we all have to do but often keep nudging down the to do list, I like to use the Eisenhower Matrix. It's a method that was created by former US President Eisenhower and then featured in Stephen Covey's, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. 

Based a quadrant matrix the system helps you decide what is important, not import, urgent and not urgent, enabling decisions on what to do, plan, delegate and eliminate. I'll admit I have been known to take too much pleasure from identifying things to eliminate and I often struggle to allocate many tasks to the delegate quadrant, but regardless its a system that works for me. 

Here's a snapshot of one of a blank matrix, all ready for me to fill in...and no I'm definitely not sharing a pic with content, that could get me into too much trouble. 

Sometimes though the decisions that need to be taken are beyond the scope of President Eisenhower's boxes and need time to think, reflect and work through potential scenarios. 

Recently, with so many fab projects underway at FCSS, I was feeling swamped by work and concerned that I wasn't committing enough time or attention to some of my other professional commitments. Added to that I was having to miss my regular personal trainer slots to keep anywhere near on top of the to do list. 

Time then to think about priorities and how to get mine in order. Here are some of the steps I have taken to regain control:

Decision 1) I have accepted that I can't do everything and that as FCSS is growing our team needs to grow too. This was always in the plan but the impacts of operating a new organisation under Covid restrictions meant budget was tight and made this a hard decision to take. Thankfully with careful planning and the support of our fantastic Board and our funders we have managed to do this and have a new Ops Manager starting later this month.

Decision 2) Re-think my professional commitments outside my main role. This was equally tough as I love all the organisations I was/am involved with. After much consideration I have resigned from my role as a Trustee at Dads Rock. I have been involved with Dads Rock for around 5 years and have loved every minute of it. The work that Thomas, Lisa and the team deliver is amazing. And Dads do rock, my dad rocks at being both a dad and a grandad and my husband rocks as a fantastic dad to our three girls. Dads Rock helps every dad be the best dad they can be, supporting whole families through their interactions with dads and their children. I chose Dads Rock to resign from as its the Board I've been involved with for longest, and sometimes fresh ideas from new people are best for an organisation. The current Dads Rock Board has grown from when I first joined and they are in a strong place as they continue to grow their impact. And their succession planning for future Chair and Treasurer roles was something I felt I couldn't play a part in as I didn't have capacity to offer any more time and input.

Decision 3) Commit to those personal trainer sessions, block them out in my diary and do everything possible to avoid missing any of them. My PTs make me physically fitter but they also give me a break from being the decision maker and from focussed thinking about work related issues. I go in, warm up, work hard and do as I am instructed. I come out happy, smiling, with a sense of achievement, and ready to get back to work. Decision made, no more missed PTs for me!

The title of this blog comes from the Mahatma Gandhi quote; "Its not just words. Action expresses priorities." Here's hoping my actions as we start 2022 have realigned my priorities.