Choose the best answer for each of the following multiple choice questions. text B 1 During her senior year in high school, Jenny worked as a waitperson. She continued working at her job when she started college. After a few months, she found that college was harder than she had anticipated. 2 School was Jenny’s number-one priority. She wanted to do well, and that made her decision to quit the job pretty easy. 3 Jenny is focused. Her goal is to do well in school because that will help her find a good job when she graduates. But to reach a goal, any goal, you need to establish priorities. Setting Priorities 4 Every day, you tackle things that are very important to you. Then there are some things that you would like to do if you have time. These do not rate as high as the first group, but they’re still important. Finally, there are other tasks that it would be nice to do, but they can be put off for a time. 5 When you do this, you are setting priorities. Priority setting is the ranking or rating of goals and activities. Priorities are not set in stone. They can change over time, even during the course of a day, especially as you gather new information. And they are unique to you. What is high priority to you may not be high priority for your best friend. 6 Most people can categorize their goals and everyday activities into three groups: 7 High priority. These post immediate and significant effects. If they are forgotten or squeezed in at the last minute, the results may be disappointing or have serious consequences. 8 Medium priority. These projects tend to have significant effects. However, they do not need your full attention immediately. For example, preparing for a job interview that is three weeks away may take a back seat to preparing for a mid-term that is only three days away. 9 Low priority. These items offer more long-term or limited benefits. Organizing your lab notes for a science project that’s due at the end of the term is an example of a low-priority task. Getting from Goal to Priority 10 To set priorities, first start with a goal. Let’s say your goal is to find a part-time job over the next month. Now think of anything that will help you in your job search. Write down every idea. 11 Read over your list. Pull out the top three to five items you want to accomplish and write A beside them. These are your most important priorities to accomplish right away. Now pull out the next three to five priorities from your list and write B beside these. These are important priorities, but they are not crucial immediately. Repeat this step for C priorities. Now write a new list, with your A priorities at the top, followed by the B and C priorities. 12 If you want, put any remaining priorities on another list. You may want to reevaluate this list as you work through your A, B and C priorities. 13 Revisit your lists briefly at thes ame time each day. Check off items that are done. Then revise based on new information. 14 For example, you could set these A priorities to help you find a part-time job: 15 Goal: Find a part-time job by the end of next month. 16 Talk to three friends about where they work. Ask them what they like and don’t like about their jobs. 17 Check out a book from the library on finding part-time jobs. 18 Look in the local newspaper and on the Internet for job leads. 19 There are no right or wrong priorities. Go with what makes sense for you and what leads you to your goals.