Do your boundaries look like an open gate?

I've recently been offering fireside chats focused on setting priorities and managing to boundaries as a way to achieve your goals.  In this discussion, I ask people to choose between two visuals on how they manage their boundaries - an open gate or a fence with spikes on the top.  More often than not, their answer is that they don't manage their boundaries so it looks a lot like the open gate.

They recognize in that moment that they're consistently addressing other people's priorities without evaluating them against their own. 

In some cases, it may be tied to a feeling of obligation to meeting a boss' needs. 

In some cases, it may be because they're unclear on what their priorities are. 

Or, it may be that they don't believe their priorities are as important as the other person's.

Whatever the reason, we can't expect that we'll achieve our goals if we're not clear on our priorities and the boundaries we'll need to set and maintain.  This is daily work, not a one and done exercise.  I know this because it's something that I've been focusing on more closely over the past few years, because I wasn't doing this well.

A tool isn't necessarily the solution, but I've started using the Full Focus Planner because it has me outline my weekly and daily top 3 priorities and reflect progress against them weekly.  This is an accountability step I need for myself.  I don't always do what I've outlined, but seeing that each day or week allows me to course correct.

How easy is it for you to quickly jot down your top 3 priorities for the day, week, or month?  If it's not clear, it might be time to step back and try to start thinking this way so that you're spending your energy and time on the things that will make the greatest impact.

Clarity on our priorities and managing to our boundaries are powerful steps toward achieving what we define as success.