How many priorities do you (or your team) have?

There can only be one priority, by definition. We can have many things that are important to us, but only one priority. Strategy can tell our teams what our priority is, what things are important to achieving that priority, and what things will not help to achieve that priority.

We all have to deal with things that do not directly help. However, there is an 80 / 20 rule: Strategy enables us to ensure that we spend 80% of our time on the things that directly contribute to the priority or are important, and 20% of our time on the things that are tactical or do not help us in any way at all.

Some professions take this to an extreme. My wife is an accountant. Every week she has to account for her time, and charge as much as appropriately proper to clients. At the accounting firms in which she worked in the UK she would typically have 95% to 97% of her time billable each week. This could only be achieved by understanding her goal, and ensuring her time was spent appropriately.

Do you know what your priority is? How much of your time is spent each week on your priority? How much of your time is spent on distractions?