NickVenturella.com 11-20-23 - Finding balance in prioritizing

I can’t believe it’s already Thanksgiving this week.

While this year has had its fast-paced intense moments, from my perspective it’s felt like it’s taken a long time. However, now life definitely seems to be clipping along as we near the end of the calendar trying to close out goals and navigate the holiday season’s demands for our attention. 

How about you?

I think the perception of time being slow to then speeding up is due to a change in focus, or perhaps a focus on too much in a short time.

When you’re playing a long game with, say, an annual goal that you’re trying to reach, you know from the time you set that goal until the end of the year, you can work toward the desired results incrementally over the year. You still have to use your time wisely, but you have more time to play with.

When you compress the timeline to, say, one quarter of the year because you have a quarterly goal/deadline, you start to realize that you can’t produce results at a steady pace like with an annual goal. 

You now need to accelerate that pace to meet the goal in a shorter time frame. That causes your focus to narrow. When your focus narrows, that means not all things can be a priority. This is where you really have to get brutal with prioritization toward reaching that goal or deadline. 

This is also a critical state where balance can get out of whack (it’s where workaholism can take hold and work/life balance can suffer). Temporarily being out of balance is one thing, but if things stay out of balance for too long all the balls you’re juggling – for that one project and all of the rest (including time/relationships with loved ones) – will begin to fall.

This is why it’s helpful when deadlines loom and new priorities come to the fore that you deprioritize other things to maintain a more manageable balance – at least until that deadline/goal is met and you can recalibrate your productivity balance for whatever is next.

Prioritizing and re-prioritizing people, projects and time is an ongoing exercise that you get better at the more you intentionally work at it. It’s made a bit easier when you have personal values you’ve defined for yourself.

But the thing is, with all prioritization, to find balance, you make trade offs. You trade your time and attention for a project deadline which means you’re not doing other work, or your family is eating dinner without you. Or, you’re choosing to connect with a friend on a trip vs. taking that next freelance gig that would put some extra money in your pocket.

The hard part is identifying what “balanced,” in any given situation looks like for you and those you love and care about.

You can’t determine your balance without understanding how the focus of your attention aligns with your values, needs and what you’re willing to trade off (even temporarily) to navigate your goals and maintain some sort of equilibrium. 

--------------------------------------------------UpdatesSome of my upcycled artistic guitars are hanging on display for the month of November at Imaginarytea.shop in Waunakee, WI. Be sure to stop by and check out the exhibit. All guitars on display are available for sale. ----------New digital collage/illustration 2D visual artwork (canvas print) is up and available in my Etsy shop.This one is called, "Super Strat Guitar." ----------Songwriters Round Town​(a songwriters in the round series)Sat. Dec. 9, 2023 at Imaginary Tea Waunakee, WI7-9pmThis is an all-ages creative experience where curated songwriters share their stories behind the songs they've written and invite the audience to participate in the conversation in between the music.Be sure to come and join.----------I've recently updated The GrowLoop Journal. It's The GrowLoop Journal 2.0, I suppose.The GrowLoop Journal is a personal documentation system to help combat disengagement, distraction, and depression to feel better and be more productive in your life and career. It's based on proven science about the mental and physical health benefits of journaling.----------Dan Lezama and I (we make up the music duo group, Gemini's Rival) have been busy re-recording new versions of our back catalog of songs from the mid/late '90's & early 2000's.Here are a few songs (of several songs to be released) that are now out on all major streaming platforms.Listen to the latest released songs on this playlist now!Up next:  "Over the Counter Friends," will release on Thanksgiving Day----------

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Stay positive. Stay healthy. Be kind.Sincerely,Nick VenturellaStrategic/Creative ProfessionalNickVenturella.com