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Creating Sanity - Getting Clear About Priorities

The first step in prioritizing (or distinguishing important and unimportant events/activities) is learning how to identify events and/or activities according to how vital and urgent they are.

Vital events/activities are necessary for the existence, continuance, or profitability of the organization as well as your personal well-being. In essence, they are of value in performance and business success, as well as the overall quality of your life.

Urgent events/activities are compelling and require immediate action and attention. In essence, they require an immediate behavioral response — which may be action or inaction.

Establishing Priorities

Use the matrix below for distinguishing typical important and unimportant events/activities that you participate in on a regular basis. Use a holistic approach by entering events/activities that are both personal and professional.

Category I. Serenity – Vital/Not Urgent Planned Most Important Events/Activities	Category II. Upheaval – Vital/Urgent Unplanned Most Important Events/Activities
Category III. Illusion – Not Vital/Urgent Unplanned Important/Unimportant Events/Activities	Category IV. Trivial – Not Vital/Not Urgent Routine Unimportant Events/Activities

Evaluating Priorities

Category I. Green Events	Green means go there! Work on green events as much as possible.
Category II. Red Events	When facing a red event, stop what you are doing and deal with it now!
Category III. Yellow Events	Yellow means caution! Edit these events carefully. Some may have low payoff or value.
Category IV. Gray Events	Gray means to avoid these events/activities. Most do not add value for you, your family, or your organization.

View our section on Work Life Balance Section for more information on how to establish work life integration or for more information on how we can assist your organization.

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