Find your priorities

Objectives

• Participants will learn to prioritize and to be aware that it can be important to make choices in how you spend your time. This helps the participant to function independently in life.
• Participants will gain insights into their priorities and learn to manage their time and choices more effectively.

Material

• Copies of the templates to be found in the pdf, scissors and glue.

Preparation

• Make enough copies of the templates you want to use in the activity.

Instructions

In this activity, participants will become more aware of various life areas and their significance. Often, participants struggle with distinguishing between essential and secondary aspects. This activity challenges them to make choices.

• First, participants will create a top 5 list of the life areas that are most important to them. They will explore why these areas hold such significance, they will discuss their choices in small groups. The facilitator wil assist if necessary.
• In the second part, they will align these areas with their daily schedule. How much time are they currently devoting to each area? Are they satisfied with this allocation, or do they wish to make changes?

Since complex concepts will be discussed, it’s important to gradually introduce and explain terms like ’importance’, ’decision-making’, ’time management’ in a very simple manner. For participants with limited language skills, supportive pictograms can be used.

You could consider he following life areas:

• Cleaning
• Cooking
• Phone, tv
• Family
• Friends
• Fun, hobbies
• Health
• Work, voluntary work
• School
• Money

It’s possible that participants would like to add something else to their top 5 list, this will be facilitated obviously. When the participants have finished, they will compare their outcomes in small groups. What are the differences and similarities? To wrap things up there will be a group discussion; what are advantages and disadvantages of the choices? They might want to make changes in their final daily schedule.

You will find various templates to use in the pdf.

Variant

When participants are done with the daily planner template or pie chart, they can indicate with hearts which activities make them happiest. They can draw hearts, with the hearts being the largest for the activities that bring them the most joy. Participants can discuss these choices with each other (in small groups). What makes them happy and why?