Each of us has many pending or to-do list and at some point we all feel overwhelmed by looking at the tasks yet to be completed. This is solely because a majority of us don’t know how to and what to prioritize. Prioritization plays a significant role in polishing one’s skills and results in better productivity.

It is often seen that we tend to maximise our results when we have a specific plan in place and that when we prioritise our activities, we tend to achieve peak performance.

As famously stated in the Pareto principle, also known as the 80/20 rule,” 20% of our efforts tend to produce 80% of our results, thereby making prioritizing our activities a must”.

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How often do you face a situation whereby whenever you require money for some important purpose it always seems insufficient?

A majority people face a dearth of money during important situations on account of which they need to compromise. The main reason being that in their daily lives, they spend money almost randomly on things that may or may not matter to their overall purpose.

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It is this habit that each of us need to modify as it’s our responsibility that we first focus on our top priorities while planning for our expenditures.

Many at times, we make a common mistake of prioritizing our activities based on the timeline.

For example: if you know that your child’s school fee is due next month, then you’d first prioritize you expenditure based on that.
Such an approach may work just fine for you but if you wish to derive utmost benefit then you would allocate amounts for expenditures based on your top priorities rather than allocating it based on what occurs immediately or what is right in front of you.

Before incurring any expenditure ask yourself, “Is this a part of my priority or am I just paying attention to it as its coming in my way?” Doing this will act as a catalyst in helping you achieve your true purpose; i:e: having a financial free life.

Let’s take the below examples to understand the concept better:

• You have money that can be utilised either for business expansion or for a family vacation. Now investing money into business expansion can probably grow your wealth and investing money into a vacation may not do that. This doesn’t mean that business expansion prioritisation is right. If going out with your family is your priority then it’s better to start building a fund towards it rather than having to compromise or to choose between the two or having to sacrifice your vacation by saying that you need money now for business expansion. You can fulfil both of these commitments with prior prioritisation and consistent allocation of funds.

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• Let’s say that you go to a supermarket with Rs. 1000 in your pocket to purchase groceries and you have a certain list with you which are your priority purchase items. However in the supermarket you come across other products like chocolates, biscuits, washing powder, fruits etc. Now, none of these items are in your priority list. However, when you go to the supermarket remembering eating habits as a priority, you’ll probably invest money on the fruits rather than other items. This is because you understand that by doing this, your family shall probably inculcate healthy habits of eating fruits and vegetables.

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So how can you start (or reform existing) prioritization of tasks? Simple, by following the below steps:

• Note down responsibilities, commitments, goals, desires and dreams on a piece of paper;
• Find out what are the important priorities that can help you achieve the required results;
• Number each item in the list on the basis of your priorities;
• Now, ask yourself “Which of these am I going to address today”, “Which are my top five or ten priorities that I need to focus upon that has the power to create a lot of financial difference for me, my family and my profession?”; and number top 5 priorities of your family, business and personal self that you are going to adopt;
• Finally, work towards addressing that priority and keep reviewing it regularly. Your priorities are yours and thereby can be changed and molded as per your requirement, so never be too rigid with them.

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Your list can be something like the one given below:

This habit of prioritization will benefit you immensely in your personal, professional and financial life. It’ll help you in taking more informed rather than random decisions while saving resources of time, effort and money. It also enables you to live a balanced life free from the stress of looking for money when required! It’ll also reduce any unwanted, unnecessary purchase or excess expenditure.
So what are you waiting for?? Start making your own list and witness the transformation it has on your overall finances!