How do you prioritize tasks and goals when everything changes?

The most helpful thing to consider at the outset of a change is how permanent you believe the change to be. Is it a total change of your current destination, or is it a temporary blip requiring a brief change of course before you get back on track?

You need to simplify. To take what seems ‘huge’ in an overwhelming time and chunk it down into smaller, manageable tasks. Even if the tasks are only 10 minute sessions. Focused work in short bursts can produce so much more than ongoing ‘dragging’ time doing something for the sake of doing it. The more you value ‘quality’ of life, the more strategic you will be with your decisions.

When dealing with change I find dealing with your emotional response is a priority. Whatever your emotional state, acknowledging and validating it reduces the intensity of the emotion. When you are calmer your ability to make good decisions improves. The next step is to take full responsibility for your response to the situation. Whatever has led to the change, you are responsible for the decisions and actions you choose to take. Focus on your highest values and weigh up your options against them. I would recommend brainstorming this step with a trusted advisor as another person can often see options that you haven't noticed. If your decisions and actions are not based on your values you will struggle to carry them out. And get support

I agree, but one needs to take into consideration their emotional health and strength as well. By being more accepting of whatever the outcome may be, things will be fine as much as someone tried in the end. If possible, keep a backup plan. Having a social network and support is necessary. Understand that transition is a process with some unexpected challenges and the potential for change. Taking one step at a time can be beneficial in this. Lastly, remember to be gentle with yourself.

Assessing my situation is what saved my business in 2020. The truth was I wasn’t making enough offers. I was sitting and waiting for referrals which, thankfully, is how my business tripled in just under 3 years. However, you can’t scale up if you’re sitting around waiting on the next referral. It was the best decision I could have made for the business. So assessing also means being honest about shortfalls and how to solve them.

In my experience the most you breakdown the task the most easier is to comply and build consistent habits, you can start with 2 min for the tasks you find harder to stick with

If I've ever found myself in the middle of a massive change, I go back to basics. I reflect on my purpose, longer term goals and work backwards. How does everything I'm doing align with that purpose? Do I need a new, temporary, purpose? Most importantly - where can I find the space for fun?

Absolutely when there are changes in our business which could be down to a sudden change to weather, a clients urgent need I write a list of Must Do’s, Could Do’s, Should Do’s to unravel any confusion to what needs doing first! Along with identifying Urgent or Important

When I do this, I start with the most challenging tasks first because those can be the easiest to avoid. When you face the hardest ones head on, excuses aren’t so looming and the work can get done.

In life and in business (because business is, after all, a part of life!), starting with our desires and feelings allows us to more easily define our priorities.

Write everything down and get it out of your head. Using pen and paper has a calming effect, and has the added bonus of shrinking what might have ballooned in your head. Don't get too technical or detailed - start forward with an 'and then...', or start at the end and work backward. Either way - a list you can tick off will be sufficient. Don't get too technical!

Acknowledging that the smallest step in the direction we want to go helps us manage the overwhelm that often accompanies our plans. We get caught up in and wedded to the final product when what is most helpful can be to reverse engineer from where we want to be back to the teeniest tiniest steps starting now...and we need to be ready to shift as necessary...to not be so tied to the outcome...The process will take us there or to somewhere even better when we have started the entire process with "what do I want to feel?"

Make sure you find space for fun in the process - whether it's as straightforward as a walk, or a hobby or sport - make sure your brain has space to focus on something else and decompress.

In my experience, change is a constant it’s how you respond to it that makes the difference. How you react is based on past experience. Many feel uncomfortable with change and the fight, flight or freeze mode kicks in. Which is perfectly natural. However, the more conscious you are with your level of resilience the more grounded you can become. Find what grounds you first. Take a step back and assess. Determine the pros, cons and risks and act accordingly. Change can bring in opportunities, it’s all in a matter of adjusting your sails, in the sea of change.

It's also important to take breaks as you are putting your plan together or working on it. Our bodies like to move after about 30 minutes and our brains can only focus for about 50 minutes! I often set a timer for 50 minutes, and when it goes off, I get up from my desk and move. This could be doing 3 minutes of stretching at my desk or walking around the office (or home), or taking 10 deep breaths while basking in the sun. Anything to let my mind and body reset. This helps to keep the stress from building up throughout the day and allows your brain to relax and energise for when you come back. FYI- taking time to check your emails or phone messages does not count. Your eyes and brain need to unplug from devices to reset.

Managing the stress is often achieved by the other steps described in this article. A sense of not being in control is stressful so assessing the situation, making a new plan and setting priorities, then starting to action that can significantly reduce stress as that feeling of control returns. A mindset that allows for the inevitability of change really helps too - if we know it may happen or even indeed is likely to happen at times, then we will already be prepared to adapt and feel less overwhelmed by the change. Finally - have a great support network to talk to, who can offer practical solutions, step in to help at short notice or simply just turn up with cake (or gin…or both!) when the going gets tough!

One of the things I've found MOST helpful is that I learned how to create ease/rest in my Every Day, doing the things I always do. That ease spread to everything--my relationships, my physical health, my emotional well-being, my ability to "manage time" to... everything.

Use small experiments and short feedback loops to assess success. You'll be able to adjust your course more effectively than if you wait for ages until you know the result of what you've done.

Reflection undertaken with curiosity instead of judgment has been most helpful to me. Being able to look at what I wanted to feel, what I saw I needed to do, taking the tiny steps and the results thereof show me where I am, what I need to do differently, what I WANT to do differently.

It's also good to review results as you go along and celebrate the tiny successes along the way. Just finishing the first task is an accomplishment, and giving yourself credit for the small wins can give you that small hit of dopamine to help keep you on track.

What's a treat you can use as motivation and reward for a job well done? Make sure to take time out to enjoy yourself, whether that's on your own or with others.

This is hard, here as we are on a stress post in a stress group. But we humans are builders of neural pathways from what we see in the world. What we see in the world is a confirmation of the lens we are looking through. We need to stop looking through a stress lens. Get out of stress groups, stop making it such a dominant factor in a processes. Prioritise for sure. See how things go. Reflect and learn, implement that learning next time.