Prioritization is important for the efficiency of our jobs, and for keeping our sanity on a daily basis when handling the hundreds of details required to manage horses.

Let’s think of a new type of daily habit: Whether Forecasting. 

Just like each day’s weather forecast is full of information, so is your “whether” forecast. Both can be short- and long-range. Both can offer you guidance in determining what your day will be like, how you dress, and if something of importance is happening. And both can change in an instant, like, well…the weather.

A whether forecast is determining what is on your To-Do List for the day. It is prioritizing your activities and making sure you are covering all aspects of your business and personal life. The business aspects can include working with current clients or on current projects, prospecting for new clients or giving yourself time to develop new ideas or network. Personal might include finding time to ride or train your own horses, or running any of the multitude of errands that accumulate each day.

A weather forecast for today might call for sunny skies, temperatures in the mid 70s, and a light southwesterly wind calming into the evening.

A whether forecast might call for working on the farm’s social media posts from the weekend’s show, three phone calls to potential clients you met there, and an evening of bookkeeping.

Just like the weather forecast can change, so can your whether forecast. 

Outside influences can change your plans in the blink of an eye. And, just like the weather, your “whethers” might include severe instances where you need to drop everything to pay attention to one person, horse, project or event.

You also can have tools that help with weather or whether forecasting. If you aren’t familiar with them, or aren’t using them fully, then you aren’t being as productive as you could be. Learn what tools are available, and learn how to use them. 

• Calendar alerts on your smartphone are invaluable to remind you to take time for a task or a meeting, not just to alert you to a dentist’s appointment.
• Mileage tracker apps can ensure you get all of the reimbursement you deserve at tax time.
• Weather apps can ensure that you are aware of the environment, which is so important to equine events.
• Shopping apps can allow you to make quick purchases when they are top-of-mind.
• List or note apps (written or spoken) can help you keep track of items you need to attend to and don’t want to forget.

The biggest part of the whether forecast is your decision-making process. You must decide whether you will work on the ABC project or the XYZ project. You have to determine whether the first call of the morning is to your best client, or the one with whom you are having issues. You need to dictate whether you stick to your schedule, or say “yes” to something that just popped up. And if you say yes, you have to figure out whether your standing To-Do List can be altered to fit in the new opportunity.

Each day you need to let your whether forecasting skills grow and develop in order to become more productive and efficient.