Throughout the year, it is easy to lose track of our priorities. Business gets hectic, stresses overwhelms us. We find ourselves caught between client and family needs. When there just aren’t enough hours in a day, our priorities can get shuffled like a deck of cards. We end up being expedient instead of effective, then wondering how we got so far off track.
Now that it is January and we are facing a brand new year, rather than make New Year’s resolutions, let’s just get our priorities straight. We might be pleasantly surprised that if we sort through what is important and what is not, some of those resolutions we were considering may be accomplished along the way.
Funeral directors are constantly in a state of tug and pull. We know what we need to do for our clients and for our business, but we are constantly being tugged away by interruptions and time-consuming details. Consequently, we are left feeling as though we never quite achieved what we had hoped to.
How to Fix This
By consciously examining our priorities and writing them down, we will find that it is easier to keep them in the forefront as we make our daily decisions. Our priorities should actually form a framework that shapes all our actions, as well as our responses, both in the funeral business and in other aspects of our lives. This framework should incorporate our personal values—religious, ethical, and social—solid business practices, our grief counseling benchmarks, and our own family relationships.
Start with writing down the values that mean the most to you personally. What type of person are you? What type of person are you trying to become? What qualities do you want others to see in you? Now jot down the priorities that directly relate to your funeral home business and what you want your grieving clients to come away with after you have handled their funeral arrangements. How do you want your funeral home to be remembered? Don’t forget to note how you want your business to grow and what business objectives you want to achieve. Finally, write down the family values that are most precious to you.
These are your life priorities. The next step is to prioritize your priorities. This is not as easy as it seems. You may have to adjust the order a few times until you feel that it is right. This is your framework. Keep your priority framework in your office where you can glance at it often. Start every day by reading it over. By having your priorities fresh in your mind each day, you will discover that the choices you make will line up with them more and more.
If a grieving family starts demanding more of your time, wanting you to handle many of the tasks that families usually do themselves, you can mentally refer to your priorities to determine how you should handle this. If one of your priorities is to be aware of the person who is especially struggling, you may decide to adjust your schedule to accommodate extra time to help that person. If your priority is not to let grievers demand so much of you that you keep falling behind, you may opt to have an assistant handle this client’s requests.
Setting your priorities for this year will enable you to stay on track with your business, your counseling goals, and your personal life. It will keep you balanced despite frustrating clients and tedious details. Most of all you will find peace and satisfaction, knowing that the way you are living and working is reflecting your deepest values.
