“Well, I guess I’m not going to the gym again today.”  How often have you heard those words from a friend or co-worker?  If you are like me, the answer is far too often.  When I hear a friend say that, frankly, I get depressed.  I get depressed because I wonder, A, is there work I am supposed to be doing? Or B, I wonder what in the world are they doing with their time?

The reality is, it is the latter question that is the correct one to ask.  We are each given the same amount of time in a day. While some of us may have more to do than others in a given day, it is the way we use our time that separates those who make it to the gym, and those who do not.

So, how do we take the time we are given and make it work for us?  Well, first, we have to actually identify what our priorities are.  Second, we have to take a critical look at how our day is potentially going to play out.  And finally, we need to create a “trigger” or a “failsafe” that ushers us into our priorities.

Identifying our priorities is the first step in gaining control over time.  We all have items and activities that are important to us.  The important first step we have to take is defining what those items and activities are.  If practicing Yoga is important to you, acknowledge the importance of this activity and take a look at how you can fit it into your day.

Using Yoga as our example, let’s take a strategic look at the day ahead.  Let’s say the Yoga studio you enjoy using offers three classes per day.  The first class is at 6:00 AM, the second is at 12:00 PM, and the third class is at 6:00 PM.  Recognizing that you don’t enjoy early mornings, and have to take your son to soccer practice at 6:00 PM, the 12:00 PM class looks to be the best fit.  The only problem is now you have to use your lunch hour to fit in the Yoga session.   You also know it will be hard to turn down the offers your co-workers make for lunch out, or even worse, the drive by tasking your boss inevitably gives in the middle of the day.  To solve this problem, and ensure this priority is fulfilled, you need to establish a “trigger.”

A “trigger” that works well when it comes to getting away from the office in the middle of the day for Yoga is to first, have your gym bag next to your desk with a full water bottle next to it.  This outward symbol creates a sign to others of your intentions earlier in the morning and may even spark a conversation or two about your intent.  The second “trigger” you can set is to create an email calendar  notification that will pop up 15 minutes before you have to leave, (Outlook and Gmail are a great example) thus prompting you to leave.  The other great benefit of a calendar notification is it allows other people who have access to your calendar to see that you will be away from the desk during that period.

Setting and maintaining priorities is not difficult, but it does take intention.  Identifying what our priorities are, strategically looking at where we should place them in our day, and finally, setting “triggers,” are all ways we can achieve success in setting and maintaining our priorities.