Stepping into our house the other day, I caught the tail end of a conversation between my husband and our youngest son. They were discussing some computer game he was playing, and the sentence I overheard—completely out of context—was: “If everything has priority, then nothing has priority.”

A revelation and a half for a thirteen-year-old, I thought. But then again, this is the same child who, a few years ago, at a resort displaying the sign “We’re proudly cashless,” asked, “Is that just a fancy way of saying they’re poor?” So I’ve come to expect his bright little flashes of insight.

Still, that line stuck with me, and I thought it appropriate to share it for this week’s letter: If everything has priority, then nothing has priority.

How easily we forget that in our daily scramble to keep everything afloat, please everyone, and do it all. I can’t help wondering how much of our constant busyness is really about that all-or-nothing mindset that whispers, if I can’t do it all or tick all the boxes right away, I’ve failed.

I’ve noticed that when I start to feel like I’m not moving forward, the best antidote isn’t doing more, but doing less on purpose; picking just one or two things to focus on for a while. It’s like a return to basics—or perhaps more truthfully, a quiet return to what’s actually important.

Not everything can matter equally. Some things are simply meant to wait their turn. An inability to prioritise will eventually lead to being overwhelmed, burnt out, or demotivated.

I once had a business analyst colleague who refused to use the word priorities. She insisted there can only ever be one priority—that the noun has no true plural. I often found being forced to pick a priority item a bit ridiculous, but perhaps she had the right idea all along.

The important question then, I suppose, is this:

What is the most important thing you should focus on next?

#MindfulMoments #SlowLiving #LifeReflections #PurposeOverPressure #IntentionalLiving #SimplifyYourLife #FocusOnWhatMatters