EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska -- As Airmen, we have been trained to prioritize our professional life, but when it comes to our life outside of work it might be a bit more challenging.
At work, normally our supervisor and commander will set priorities for us; however, sometimes we are given numerous tasks and allowed to set our own priorities. Even if you don't have a structured mental model for how to prioritize tasks at work, you can always fall back on what you learned in basic training. Most likely you'll be able to successfully manage your task load based on that experience.
Sometimes how we prioritize in our profession is very structured, take fighter pilots for example. We may not all be fighter pilots, but they are a good example of how priorities are practically applied. They live and breathe priorities--they fly high-performance aircraft and employ powerful weapons against hostile forces, and their lives depend on properly balancing priorities.
During flight briefings fighter pilots discuss how we will handle dangerous situations.
For example, if we encounter an emergency in the jet, we have three basic priorities we follow:
- Maintain aircraft control
- Analyze the situation
- Take the proper action
When we operate at low-altitude in enemy territory, sometimes just a few hundred feet above the ground, and at airspeeds over 600 mph, we adhere to the following priorities:
- Watch for near "rocks"
- Watch for far "rocks"
- Check six (look behind our formation for enemy aircraft, anti-aircraft artillery, or surface-to-air missiles)
- Keep visual contact with each other
- Maintain proper formation
- Ensure our aircraft systems are operating properly and we have enough fuel to accomplish the mission
- Operate on-board sensors
- Be prepared to employ air-to-air or air-to-ground ordnance at any time
It's something we do every time we fly and because of that it becomes second nature. Other career fields might not use such structured training to set priorities; however, they all have things they do to prioritize in order to ensure the mission is accomplished. Most Airmen are very good at setting "work" priorities, but what about when the uniform is off and you don't have that supervisor or commander to guide you?
Do you ever consider the negative consequence of misprioritizing your "free" time? Since 9/11 our operations tempo has been extremely high and we have been devoting more and more time to our profession and less time to other (sometimes very important) endeavors. Most of us haven't had courses or basic training when it comes to setting priorities for our limited "free" time.
Until someone figures out how to squeeze more than 24 hours out of each day, our "free" time will be scarce and extremely valuable, so it's important to effectively prioritize this valuable (and fleeting) resource.
I use a very simple mental model--what I refer to as the six Fs: Faith, Family, Friends, Fitness, Finances, and Fun--to help me properly prioritize my activities outside of work. I do my best to avoid wasting precious time on activities that don't add value to the following categories.
Faith--belief in a divine/higher power; gives hope, meaning, and motivation for me to live a productive life.
Family--spend as much quality time as possible serving my immediate, extended, and work families.
Friends--cultivate and sustain genuine friendships which enriches my life.
Fitness--both mental and physical: keep my mind sharp by reading, studying, and learning; keep my body healthy by striving to consume healthy food/drink and exercising regularly.
Finances--we only receive a finite amount of income, and it is usually insufficient to fund all of our needs and our wants; actively seek out personal finance education and plan for the future.
Fun--an easy one to remember because we all enjoy having fun!
In a military that loves acronyms and shortcuts to remembering things I hope the six Fs is something you will not forget. It works well for me and if you find it difficult to prioritize your life outside of work, perhaps this model is right for you.