A Note from Kelly King: Leaders are effective at establishing strategies and communicating vision. The disconnect often happens when priorities don’t follow vision and strategy. In today’s article, Bobi Ann Allen gives some practical help on how to set effective priorities for your life and for your leadership.
pri·or·i·ty
prīˈôrədē/
noun
plural noun: priorities
A thing that is regarded as more important than another.
I could not love that definition more! In my all-consuming world of conflicting demands, how do I decide what to tackle first, second, and third?
What are your priorities? Would people say housework didn’t figure high on your list of priorities? Or would they say creating delicious meals was always clearly the top priority?
Identifying your priorities is usually identified in two ways: your schedule and your spending. And then setting priorities is about knowing and understanding your mission. Why are you here and what do you want to accomplish? Priorities are most effectively born from a mission statement. You can find out how to write one in the link at the bottom of this article.
Take a minute to consider what your priorities look like and how you would like them to be different. After pinpointing your present priorities, begin to ask these three questions in order to make appropriate adjustments:
1. What is your most cherished/important role?
I’d encourage you stop and grab a paper and pen. Start by writing down all the roles you play. Are you a teacher, sister, mom, wife, chauffeur, chef, banker, daughter, Jesus-follower? You get the idea. List your roles. All of them.
After making a list of your roles, begin ranking them. Cut them out if you have to and begin arranging them in order of importance. Then rewrite your list in order of importance.
Recognizing your most important role(s) creates a filter by which you will set your priorities and ultimately the rhythm of your life.
2. What do you want to accomplish in your roles?
Using the list you already created, begin addressing goals for each particular role.
As a mom, my goal is to raise godly men and women. Maybe your goal as an employee is to be recognized by your employer. Whatever your objective, write it down.
Then ask yourself these questions: Do your goals align with the intentions God has for that role? Does the way you spend your time and money reflect the end goal? What needs to receive less attention so those items at the top of your list can receive more?
3. How do you want to be remembered?
On a separate sheet of paper or on the back of the sheet you have, make some notes about how you want to be remembered.
Your desired legacy will hopefully mirror your new list of priorities and your life’s mission. There is a direct correlation between your priorities and your legacy.
I once heard a pastor say, “No one ever stumbles into godliness.” Choosing to live out a godly life requires intentionality—a mission and purpose.
Setting the course of your life and legacy requires intentional choices to say “no” to those items further down the list so we can “yes” to our most important roles and goals.
One of the most effective ways I’ve found to live with intentionality is to create a mission statement for yourself and your family. You can find out how to create one by clicking here.
Bobi Ann Allen is a pastor’s wife, mom, and ministry leader. She is the author of the Jesus, Our Joy Bible Study and the Home Family Devotional. Raised in a small east Texas town, Bobi Ann now calls central Texas home. A graduate of Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary with a master’s degree in Christian education, Bobi Ann has also served on church staff ministering to women. She finds her greatest passion in ministry to be opening the Word with women and allowing the Holy Spirit transform hearts—including her own. She spends her days folding underwear, unloading the dishwasher, and hunting for her people’s lost stuff. You can find more from Bobi Ann on her website, bobiann.com, and by following her on Instagram @bobiann.
