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How to Set Priorities - 3 Steps For Taking Control of Your Time

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If you are like many people, you are juggling a lot of things: your career or school, creative and personal development activities, your relationships, your health and wellness-not to mention having some fun once in a while! And when you have a lot to do, it is often hard to know what to do first. Moreover, if you spend most of your time in one area like your career or school, you may be feeling out of balance and resenting the fact that that you do not have time for anything else. You start to view time as your enemy and you find that your energy is sapped and your feel even more out of control. The key to getting yourself out of this cycle is to change your relationship to time and learn how to manage yourself around time. First of all, let's remember what priorities are: short-term goals. These are the things that you want to accomplish in any given period of time. The more your goals represent your values, strengths and passions, the more likely you are to achieve them. The same thing goes for your priorities. A lot of people are stuck with to-do lists that have a lot of "shoulds" rather than their choices. Why not recreate your to-do list and have it reflect the things that represent your authentic choices?

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In order to begin to manage time in a way that makes you feel in control, you can reset your priorities by following these three steps: 1. Be aware of how you are currently spending your time The first step to changing your relationship to time is to assess how to spend your time. Write down all the things that you do. How much time do you spend in each area? The way you spend your time is a statement of what your priorities are.
P IANIS T AND D MA, J UIL L IAR D S C HO O L

2. Assess how satisfied you are with the way you are spending your time Next, think about the most important areas of your life (e.g., career, relationships, personal development, finances, health, fun, service etc).

I initially began coaching because my boyfriend, a big fan of Astrid's, saw that I was confused about a lot of things regarding the direction my life was taking career-wise. He purchased five coachings for me for my birthday with the caveat that nothing was binding and that I could opt out any time if I felt uncomfortable. From my very first session, it was clear that Astrid is one of the most insightful and generous people I have met. I walked into this session last fall, thinking that I had come to a dead-end in my music career and that perhaps I would

Rate each area in terms of how important it is to you. Use a scale of 1-10 with 1 being "not important" and 10 being "vitally important. Now rate how well are you living each of these areas. How satisfied are you with the amount of time that you spend on this area? Rate this on a scale of 1-10. Look back at those areas that you rated as very important (8, 9 or 10). If there is a gap of 2 or more points between how important an area is and your satisfaction rating, chances are that you are feeling a lack of balance because there is a gap between what is important to you and what you are actually doing. 3. Set new priorities to start doing more of the important things in your life The third step to reordering your priorities is to figure out what important activities

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Astrid Baumgardner | How to Set Priorities - 3 Steps For Taking Control... http://www.astridbaumgardner.com/articles/24-how-to-set-priorities-3-...

benefit from heading in a new direction. After only a couple sessions, I renewed my sense of love for music and began to see possibilities for myself that I never dreamed of. Astrid is extremely dedicated and focused in each session. One major breakthrough I have had is the idea that being authentic is a major value for me and that I have spent so much of my life trying to please others or do activities I feel like I "should" do. I feel like I have blossomed in so many ways this year, taking on creative projects that I might have been cautious of before, meeting incredible colleagues, and being excited about the future instead of fearful of it. Astrid has a great gift of seeing the beauty in each person and allowing their strengths to come through. JC, New York, NY

are missing from your life and As you review each question, right down the activities that come to mind. 1. What is the most important thing in my life right now? 2. Where would I want to spend more time? 3. Where would I want to spend less time? 4. What areas need my attention now (e.g., school, talent, health, relationship)? Write down your activities in the order that feels most important to you. This is your new list of priorities. Remember that your priorities can change in any given period of time. If there is something important on your list that you do not have time for right now, think about when you can slot that in. It's another way to take charge of time and feel in control. Enjoy your new list of priorities!

(C) Astrid Baumgardner 2010

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C O MP O S E R

Astrid has turned around the way I look at my career in the most extraordinary way. I used to think that the professional part of what I do was very separate from the creative and deeply personal aspects of being a composer. Going after professional opportunities to get my music out there felt to me like a very daunting task--one that I found a little distasteful because it felt like "selling myself." Astrid really helped me realize that building a career has to come from the most genuine part of myself--in the same way as building a piece. With this understanding, the professional world looks much less scary to me now, and I'm able to reach out to my professional network with the courage of my conviction, and with the kind of personal investment and care that makes professional experiences deeply meaningful. Career building is about believing in what you do, and its validity; it is about communication and courage. It only works if it feels true to who you are.

Astrid Baumgardner, JD, PCC is a professional life coach and lawyer, Coordinator of Career Strategies and Lecturer at the Yale School of Music and the founder and President of Astrid Baumgardner Coaching + Training, which is dedicated to helping musicians, lawyers and creative professionals take charge of their lives and experience authentic success. In addition to her work at YSM and her individual coaching practice, Astrid presents workshops at leading conservatories and law firms on topics including Career Planning, Goal-Setting, Time Management, Dynamic Communication, Conflict Management and Personal Branding and Networking. She is the author of numerous articles on the various aspects of how to achieve and live authentic success.

With her supportive and positive attitude combined with her incredible sensitivity and intelligence, Astrid has created for me a wonderful safe space to discover how I want to develop my goals from the inside out. I have found in her a true kindred spirit as well as a powerful ally and coach. Hannah L,. New York, NY

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AT T O R NE Y AND ? ? ? ? ? ?

There seem to be an infinite number of resources available to people looking to make career changes these days, and I think I looked into most of them before I met Astrid. Numerous books advised me to do what I loved. That sounded good, except that I didnt know what I loved. A career test provided some insight and long lists of possibly compatible jobs, but ultimately directed me to do what I loved - back to square one. Another career coach, dispensing with frivolities like love, laid out a practical approach to a career path that objectively made some sense, but I knew in my heart that I would hate it. I felt deficient for not knowing what I loved, unreasonable for rejecting a sensible path that didnt appeal, and in general, completely hopeless about my situation.

When I began coaching with Astrid, I was struggling with a strong feeling that there was some perfect thing out there for me to do, if only I could think of what it was. I had a vague idea that finding the answer would involve going through the racks of possible jobs and holding each one up in front of the mirror to see if it might fit, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that we would take a more bespoke approach. There would be no squeezing me into a readymade career in this process - instead, we would be focusing on my strengths, values, work style, etc., to think about what might be right for me. Astrids willingness to cheerfully abandon any exercise that wasn't working for me kept me comfortable with everything we did, and helped me to get the most out of the process.

The work we did helped me to form a foundation for understanding why certain things, career-related or otherwise, are a better choice for me than others. With Astrids warm encouragement, I have also started to reconnect with the creative, less self-limiting side of myself that I feared was permanently lost. I feel more like myself than I have in a long time, and I have a career direction that I am looking forward to exploring. This may or may not turn out to be the perfect thing that I was looking for, but I no longer feel the pressure of that search; rather, I am hopeful that by taking actions that are consistent with my character, staying open to the possibilities that arise with each action, and correcting my course as necessary, I will enjoy the

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process just as much as whatever result I reach. I am grateful to Astrid for helping me to readjust my direction and my outlook, and I highly recommend her services to anyone who feels lost, stuck or anything less than wholeheartedly enthusiastic about what they are doing. Andrea K., New York, NY

C E L L IS T AND MUS IC E NT R E P R E NE UR

A good friend recommended I see Astrid because I was stuck. Stuck. Stuck. Stuck, and suffering. She has helped me parse through all the detail in what seemed panoramic hopelessness. She has worked in a distinctly different way than my psychotherapist, more pragmatically, and the combination of the two ... has been, for me, very effective. I have made tectonic shifts in the way I see myself, my place in the world and how I move through it. There have been some very painful changes and realizations, but most important, I have found a source for joy, hope and energy, undiluted by difficulties, so that I actually feel better, and stronger. This is my testimony to Astrid. TM, Rhode Island

E D UC AT O R

Astrid Baumgardner is a true

facilitator, and in that capacity she has guided me to discover the values and deeply held beliefs essential to my happiness and fulfillment in the workplace, wherever it may be....Through our coaching sessions, I was able to draw out and fortify my self-confidence, without which my ambitious relocation would not previously have been conceivable. When you are determined to strive diligently for change in your life, Astrid will be there to help you to create a roadmap to navigate and overcome every obstacle you encounter throughout your life-altering transition. MH, New York, NY and Tokyo, Japan

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