Good Quote About Prioritizing

After a Juggling Elephants program a few weeks ago, someone gave me this great quote:

If you can't prioritize, everything becomes a crisis.

I got this hilarious picture of a circus where someone would say, "Let's see the animal act," and everyone would race around getting it into the ring. When the act was over, they would talk again and someone would say, "How about the trapeze act?," and everyone would once again move frantically around the floor trying to get the act ready as soon as possible. The ringmaster is stressed because they know that any minute of performance lost creates a less than enthusiastic audience. And the performers are frustrated because they have no idea what to do next.

What's your circus like when you fail to prioritize? Chances are, it's not your best performance.