7 Steps to Identify Your Top Priorities in Life Leave a comment

Life today feels like a race.

Between juggling work commitments, personal responsibilities, and a desire for self-improvement, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. But what if finding tools to learn something new could be the key to bringing balance and fulfillment into your life?

Allocating time to explore new skills or knowledge enhances your personal development and helps you refocus your energy on what truly matters.

Work-life balance is a phrase we hear often, yet achieving it remains elusive for many. Striking a balance requires prioritizing your career, health, relationships, and personal growth. Exploration and learning can become surprising gateways to this harmony. Whether it’s taking up a hobby, mastering a new technology, or enhancing soft skills, these pursuits have the power to enrich your life in meaningful ways.

By staying mindful of your life priorities, you can reshape your days in alignment with your true passions and goals. You can reconnect with your purpose by using innovative resources like online platforms or supportive communities while cultivating new interests. These small shifts can lead to a greater sense of accomplishment and a renewed perspective, all while staying centered in the hustle and bustle of modern living.

In this article, I will offer seven actionable steps to help you identify your top priorities in your life.

1. Make a List of Your Needs vs. Your Wants

Needs versus wants.

The concept is often something that we, as human beings, easily confuse.

When you are trying to figure out the difference, you’ll find a “but” typically in there somewhere.

We need a roof over our heads… but do we need the biggest house on the block?

We want to live a healthy lifestyle, but do we need to join the most expensive gym to reach our goals?

We want to send our kids to college, but do we need them to attend the most costly school?

Once you can differentiate between your needs and wants, you will start revealing your true life priorities.

Things like financial and job security, a safe and happy environment for your children, and quality time with family.

When you dig through the entanglement of one’s needs and wants,  you will see what matters and can start making a plan to get there.

2. Decide Who You are Accountable To

Who do you answer to?

Who depends on you?

As children, we answer to our parents and teachers. Most people eventually have to respond to an employer at some point. 

And then people start to depend on you. 

People like your teammates and friends. Your employees. Your significant other. Your children.

It is almost impossible to establish your priorities in life without thinking about the people affected by them.

For example, if financial security is of the utmost importance to you… would you sacrifice time with your children by working long hours to obtain that?

It all boils down to what you want more… and then prioritizing them so that you can make both possible.

Priorities are like dominos… one often sets another in motion.

If you need help figuring it all out, the video below briefly overviews the 4 burners theory and the five specific strategies you can use to implement this concept.

3. Create a Timeline and Determine What You Need

Next, compile a timeline for your life’s goals and determine what you need to prioritize to reach them.

Many times, people will interchange the words goals and priorities.

I’ve been guilty of this myself.

Chase goals is like running a race to the finish line. Goals serve as the “mile markers” or benchmarks on your journey to winning the race. 

Conversely, priorities are the things you need to accept or deny to reach that goal.

Say your goal is to retire to the Carribean at age 55.

You may set goals to get you there, such as:

Now, here’s the tricky part.

To meet these goals, you will likely need to rethink your priorities in life.

This means you must say no to certain things and yes to others, whether you like it or not.

You will need to prioritize financial security and savings to reach the amount of money you need to retire comfortably.

This may require that you say “yes” to working more hours or accepting that promotion you weren’t sure about… which means you’ll miss many of your kids’ soccer games.

This may mean saying “no” to expensive family vacations… which means you’ll miss that look on your child’s face the first time she meets Minnie Mouse.

It may also mean saying “no” to eating out regularly or buying your kid the hottest video game console for his birthday… which will likely make him call you unfair.  

Choices will need to be made in the quest to reach our goals… and they will almost certainly affect our priorities in life.

So, if you decide that making memories with your children is more of a priority than retiring early…then your future goals will also change.   

4. Assign Categories and Sort Your Priorities Accordingly

In section I, I touched upon deciphering our needs and wants to reveal what was truly important to us.

Figuring out what we really need to be happy and successful in this world is the cornerstone of establishing our priorities in life.

In order to distinguish what matters most to you, you’ll need to do some soul-searching… which, believe it or not, can be rather daunting.

It may help to jot down in a journal whatever comes to mind when you think about words like “happiness, love, success, and security.” 

From there, try and fit your words into categories, such as:

This is a strategy introduced in Warren Buffet’s 25-5 Rule.

The rule calls for listing your 25 top priorities in life… and then choosing the 5 you want to work on the most. The other 20 don’t matter.

Buffet also believed that assigning categories to your priorities will help you narrow them down… and, thus, get a better handle on the big picture. 

There is no science behind this one… as it’s more about your emotional state of mind and your subconscious telling you what matters. 

The critical thing to remember is that there are no guarantees in life… but the quality of life we choose to lead is entirely in our hands.

5. Eliminate Distractions and Negativity

If you are trying to determine your top priorities in life, you’ll need to give the process the attention it deserves.

This means you’ll need to eliminate any distractions.

When faced with making any big decisions in life, you won’t get very far if the phone is ringing constantly or text and email alerts are going off non-stop. 

You’ll have a hard time staying focused in a noisy house where the kids are screaming, playing… or watching TV.

Your best bet is to dedicate time to the process and find yourself a quiet space free of distractions. Buffet’s rule suggests setting aside at least one hour for silent contemplation and note-taking. 

Similarly, it’s also a good idea to distance yourself from negativity. This means staying away from negative people, whether in person or on social media.

Whether they intend to or not, these people will try to convince you that your priorities are askew, which may cause you to pause on your journey.

Letting negativity in will only cloud your mind and paint a false picture of what you think is essential.

6. Seek Advice

When you are gauging your priorities in life, keep in mind that you are not the first person to struggle with doing so.

It’s not easy… especially since they may change as time passes and our personal and professional circumstances shift.

The things you prioritized in life when you were fresh out of college are likely different now that you’re married with a child.

And they will likely change again if you have more than one child or face hardship.

That is why it’s a good idea to seek advice from a trusted family member, friend, or mentor… preferably someone who has been in your shoes.

Your parents, for instance, likely have little gems of wisdom to offer… given how they raised you. They also probably fostered a model for what you’d like your role as a parent to look like.

There is no shame in asking for guidance, especially when you can access it easily.

But if you don’t know anybody personally with whom you’d feel comfortable discussing things, there are always motivational speakers, online classes…, and even text therapy to help guide you down the right path.

7. Get Organized

If you think you’ve finally established your top priorities in life… now comes the hard part.

The follow through.

It’s one thing to write down your priorities and say you’ll commit to them… it’s quite another to carve out the necessary time to make them happen.

As we’ve said, life gets busy. And it’s easy to put things on the back burner when you feel pressed for time.

That is why it’s a good idea to get organized… let yourself and the people around you know you’re serious.

You can go old-school and purchase a day planner or whiteboard.

Or you can use one of the many calendar apps to keep you accountable.

It boils down to what works best for you.

Are you the type of person who thrives when using visual reminders that other people can see, such as the whiteboard hanging in the kitchen or a shared family calendar?

Or are daily alerts or reminders on your phone or tablet sufficient?

When you’re trying to get organized, it’s also important to ensure that you’re in the right mindset.

A few minutes of meditation each morning can help keep you on track and focused on the tasks ahead.

Believe it, and you’ll achieve it!

Final Thoughts on Identifying Your Top Priorities in Life

Today, we’ve discussed seven steps to help you identify and tackle your top priorities in life.

Priorities are those things you hold most dear… the most worth your time and effort to achieve. 

You need to remember that each priority has a “why” attached to it.

Why do you want to go back to college?

Why do you want to switch careers?

Why do you want to relocate?

Why do you want to change churches? 

Many times, the “whys” behind our priorities in life have a lot to do with happiness… happiness for ourselves and those we love. 

See more tips to finding your “Why in life”.

While true priorities should not be taken lightly, it can help to acknowledge some level of compromise.

Here’s an example of what I mean.

If financial security for your family is a top priority, but spending more time with them is another… can you truly obtain both?

The answer is “yes”.

If you compromise.

Take the job that pays the bills now… but dedicate some of your free time to starting up a side business.  Maybe even include your family in the planning?

The priorities you set for yourself now will help you reach your goal of eventually working for yourself and make your hours… thus spending more time with your family. 

Establishing priorities in life is a balancing act, but if done correctly, it will ultimately center you. Always remember to also make yourself a priority so you can give your best to whatever goals you want to achieve.

And if you need more resources to figure out your priorities in life, start by knowing your core values. Here are some articles that could help:

Finally, if you want to take your goal-setting efforts to the next level, check out this FREE printable worksheet and a step-by-step process that will help you set effective SMART goals.