Let's talk a bit about prioritization. And no, I'm not some expert that's gonna share frameworks on how you can best stick to weekly goals + yearly resolutions and whatnot (although I do have systems I use). For those juicy life optimization tips, I'm afraid you're going to have to scour around YouTube for some productivity gurus - shouldn't take too long.
Rather, I'm here to share the thoughts of an individual who has recently accepted my lack in this area, and one who has been trying to (hopefully) turn it around.
So in essence, I'm a guilty man. I'm guilty of saying that I prioritize in my life when really, I don't think I have been. Sure, my daily tasks are ordered by priority, and I try to work through that order, allocating the appropriate bandwidth to each. But in my view, that's a small part of what prioritizing is. All you're doing is just sorting tasks by deadline, difficulty or the like. And sure, it's useful, but from a high level, while some tasks towards the back end may experience a drop in quality, everything gets done eventually - not too large a delta in workload difference.
Where I think prioritization really kicks into play is in opportunity selection. Instead of ordering tasks, it's about whether a set of tasks associated with the opportunity should even enter the to-do list. University (and entrepreneurship) is filled with opportunities - a ridiculous amount in fact. We often see various busy individuals, who are doing things... but whether the things they are doing are meaningful and purposeful in moving them towards their goals, that's a whole other question.
The catch here is that we need to find the balance between saying "Yes!" to new opportunities and being able to discern what makes a good opportunity from a great one, following up with a "No..." appropriately. Time and bandwidth are finite. You have to identify the opportunities that deliver the best ROI in terms of helping you work towards your goal and ruthlessly cut the others out of your life. As part of some assigned self-study modules during my stint as a Consulting Intern with Deloitte, I took a course related to prioritization. The term they used was identifying the Most Valuable Activities (MVA). I think this is an important skill.
And I'm horrible at it. Ok, maybe not horrible. I recognize opportunities that help me work towards my goal, but I say yes to everything anyways, which might potentially be worse.
However, lately, I've been trying to be better.
I recently pulled out of two potentially golden opportunities that could have helped me cement my position at University and build my resume. I told myself that I would be able to manage them amidst my other commitments, like building The 100 Club (currently called Polaris), which is an exclusive mastermind community for entrepreneurs who've made >$100 in their side hustles, but I was lying to myself. I know myself best. Whenever I commit to something, I tend to put in my best effort, which meant that something else would have to give. In this case, it would have been my entrepreneurial ambitions.
So ruthless prioritization - that's the mindset I'll be trying to carry forward with me in University and entrepreneurship, and hopefully, that'll mean a little more bandwidth in the right places.
As always, the thoughts shared are just raw perspectives from one individual, not fact. But hopefully, you can identify areas in your life, where you can implement or change the way that you prioritize.