Putting First Things First

The word “priority” existed in the English language for about 500 years before it began being used in the plural form. Somehow we decided that the first thing, the most important thing, the most essential thing… could actually be multiple things.

In so many ways, this sums up the world we live in now. Everything is urgent. Everything is important.

How then do we distribute our time, money, and attention?

Largely, we don’t in any intentional way. We operate in reaction mode, and our resources are scattered across too many priorities.

I’m sure you feel overwhelmed by ever-increasing demands on your time, money, and attention, just like I often do.

Because no one gets more than 24 hours in a day. And money can easily evaporate faster than it’s acquired.

This is why management matters.

And the cornerstone of good management is decisions.

Prioritized decisions.

This way, we acknowledge we can’t go back to the Middle Ages when “priority” was singular, but we can set our multiple demands in an intentional order.

We can identify and acknowledge the reality of tradeoffs. We can own those choices purposely, instead of becoming victimized by their reality.

At its core, prioritizing is about ranking. Even if multiple things are genuinely important, we can agree they aren’t equally important, and thus can be ranked.

I need groceries, but certain staples are more important than others in that domain.

I enjoy entertainment, but I can set a limit to the number of simultaneous streaming services.

I want a new outfit for an event, but I value buying my kid’s birthday presents more.

The “big rocks” that matter most must come first.

Expenses we juggle also don’t come with the same cost. Both Ethan Allen and IKEA provide home furnishings we want and like, but the former costs significantly more.

Making tradeoffs in less vital domains can help alleviate more painful tradeoffs in more crucial categories by leaving more space. I’d rather have the cheaper furniture than lack funds for the next car repair or appliance replacement that will inevitably come up.

Prioritizing your expenses, then, is about ranking them in order of importance and then by cost. This matrix of importance vs. cost can then inform our decisions when making cuts, or when deciding to take on additional burdens, much like Stephen Covey’s grid of importance vs. urgency for managing one’s time.

This approach helps prioritize and manage decisions on a practical level, so the tradeoffs that happen are the ones we choose, the ones that best support our values and goals, not tradeoffs that are a simple result of where the chips fall.

This is an essential perspective on how we ultimately manage our money.

Because if everything matters, then nothing does.