On a recent road trip, Trish and I had an interesting discussion about the frustration of conflicting priorities. Are conflicting priorities even possible? Not really. At any given time, you can have only one priority. If you have “conflicting priorities,” you have not decided what is most important to you.

Frustration with how you spend your time usually means you are doing something that is not your priority or your priority does not match your values. If you spend your time on what is most important to you, why would you be frustrated?

I know, I know, it is not really as simple as this! On any given day, your priorities shift. On Monday, getting to work on time might be your highest priority (assuming that earning your paycheck is important to you). On Sunday afternoon it might be watching your favorite team play, especially if you are a Pats fan.

How would your life change if you decided each day what is most important to you and you worked on that? There will still be unfinished tasks on your list, but maybe it would not matter as much.

You are the only one who can decide how you spend your time. If you are feeling frustrated with your choices, reflect on what is really most important to you.