108: How To Prioritize Like You're a Reality TV Star

This might sound strange, but one of my favorite shows right now is called Naked and Afraid. They take expert survivalists, dump them in some remote location with minimal supplies, and they have to survive for up to 40 days. One of the most interesting parts of the show is watching how they set priorities (especially once they’ve gone a few days without food!

But most of us aren’t in survival situations every day, and this makes choosing where to put your limited resources of time and energy a tough decision.

In this episode of the bold life podcast I’ll show you one strategy to get clear on your priorities, so you have the energy and time for your most important goals. Okay let’s dive in.

What I Learned About Time Management From Reality TV

You know I’m a pretty big reality TV fan. I’m glued to The Bachelorette every season. But the reality shows on channels like Discovery. Shows about veterinarians who work with unique animals, strange medical mysteries, and the bluefin tuna fishery are my jam.

My favorite reality show right now is one called Naked and Afraid. If you’ve never seen it I know the title might sound like some bizarre dating show, or a throwback to Survivor, but it’s actually about real survival experts.

Each episode two people who are experts in wilderness survival get dropped into the middle of nowhere (often in south america in the rainforest where it pours rain for 3 weeks, or in africa where herds of territorial elephants give them very intense stares or crocodiles rule their only water source).

They have no clothes (hence the title),

They’re given a knife and maybe a pot or a fire starter
Then they have to survive for at least 21 days (plus there are some all star episodes where they survive 40 days!).

It’s pretty amazing to watch the things these folks can do, especially curled up in my blanket with my popcorn and glass of wine. They build shelters from nothing, start fires with their bare hands, scavenge for food and set all kinds of traps, plus they have to navigate being alone, naked, in the wilderness with a total stranger!

A discussion that comes up in most episodes is how to prioritize what they need to get done. Priorities are generally a combination of

get some type of shelter for protection,
start a fire,
obtain drinkable water,
and then find food.

And it’s super interesting to watch how they decide where they’re going to put their time and energy, especially as their energy starts to fade.

The first day they feel pretty good and they do a lot of work, but after 2-3 days of limited sleep and no food they are running low on energy and motivation. It’s really amazing to see how these folks find the mental strength to endure and persevere, and how they decide whether today is going to be focused on finding firewood, food, or just resting because a lot of the show is about conserving energy so they can hike out (for hours by the way) at the end of the challenge.

Like I said these are expert survivalists so they have a pretty good idea about how to prioritize their time and energy. When they start to get low on energy and burn out the focus becomes on resting, staying hydrated, and efficient ways to get food (now I’m kind of tempted to try snake, they eat a lot of those on the show).

Your brain is good at prioritizing in a survival situation too. That’s what our brains were designed to do. To conserve energy. So when an emergency happens, that car is approaching fast, you can jump out of the way and all your energy goes to your muscles to make that happen.

It’s Hard For Our Brains To Prioritize When There Are 40 000 Things On Your To-Do List Every Day

The problem is most of us aren't survivalists in the wild. And our modern world sends our brains a bunch of mixed messages about how we should be using our time and energy. Your massive overwhelming to-do list is a great example.

Pull out your to-do list. How many items are on it? About 40 000? You’re not alone my friend.

Our daily tasks aren’t as straightforward as finding food and water. We have competing priorities.

20 projects on the go at work, emails to answer, phone calls to return, your kids birthday party to plan, groceries, laundry, and the million other things that fill our time. And that can all feel pretty overwhelming right?

Our brains struggle to prioritize, to look at that to-do list and decide where you need to devote your time and energy, because everything feels equally important.

And that feeling of overwhelm can send your brain into another energy conserving default - procrastinating.

When you feel stretched thin, like there’s never enough time, or you get stuck in that cycle of self doubt and constantly questioning your decisions, your brain goes on the defensive. It says, well this is stressful, better to just avoid it all together.

It’s hard to take action. Whether that’s starting that project you’ve been avoiding, or starting a new exercise routine, or meal planning. Because it feels like too much work for your brain.

Your brain wants to conserve energy, that’s the default, it’s designed to keep you safe, but it can lead to procrastination, stress, and feeling stretched thin.

3 Questions To Ask Every Day To Get Relief From Your To-Do List

How do you get your brain to get survivalist clear on your priorities, even if you live in the city and work in a beautiful office? It starts with your to do list.

Do this today.

Pull out your to-do list. Read through each item and ask yourself these questions:

Does this have to be done today (be honest here, can it get postponed to another day)
Do I even need to do this? Lots of tasks end up on our to-do list because we feel we “should” do them. Is that item on your list because you feel guilty, or that inner perfectionist or people pleaser makes you feel like you should do it? If yes, can it get cut?
Does this item take me closer to my goals (or is it some form of busy work, or distractions that zap my time and energy).

My goal every day is to identify my big 3 from this method. I learned the big 3 from productivity master Michael Hyatt.

Once I’ve identified the 3 tasks that take me closer to my goals, the ones that aren’t only on my list because I feel guilty about something, and tasks that are actually urgent, I set those as my priorities for the day. If there’s time and energy left I can move on to bonus tasks.

Remember, our brains evolved to prioritize how we dedicate our time and energy in a world a lot like a reality show about survival, where we only have a few things we need to focus on like finding water and shelter.

But in our modern world we have so many competing priorities.

This can send your brain into energy conservation mode like procrastination because it all feels too overwhelming.

Taking control of that massive to-do list will help you get relief from those time pressures, and help you save energy for the things you enjoy doing.

Bonus Resources

Want to get more done in your day? Make sure you download my free workbook Your Daily Productivity Checklist. I’ll show you how I set up my day for productivity so I can get more done, and still have energy left for the things I like to do. You can get your copy at drnicolebyers.com/checklist

Show Highlights

[01:43] I’m a pretty big reality TV fan. Especially the ones you can find on Discovery!

[03:09] One of the most important parts of reality TV shows is determining how to set their priorities.

[04:17] Your brain is pretty good at prioritizing a survival situation, but not necessarily in the modern world.

[05:38] When you feel stretched thin, your brain goes on the defensive.

[06:29] Getting “survivalist” clear on your priorities all starts with your to-do list.

[07:53] A quick recap of what you’ve learned in this episode.

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