I was a disaster with prioritisation towards the start of my career.
I would simply cover this up by working extra hours- daily and over weekends. Since I had no personal time carved out and TVs was the best friend post-work. I thought I was cutting my TV time and working, how sensible?
I enjoyed it when people said, "Look, how hard is he working."
Soon I was expected to deliver more at work and personal front. The hours in the day was the only constant and began my struggle.
There was this senior colleague who I used to admire, amazing at work deliveries.
After my initial inhibitions, I reached out to him. I opened up and asked for help.
He exposed me to the power of writing daily goals. His day started with daily goals and ended with a quick check on how it went.
It has been years, and my workday starts with writing down my daily goals; this has proved to be magical for me. I still have not been able to add an end time target to my workday, need to practice.
Four things I learned : 1. Ask when you need help, learn from others 2. Plan your day, write things down 3. The higher you move up, your time value shoots up even more. Prioritisation will be a significant ask. 4. Time is elastic; you have to set boundaries.