How to Prioritize Your Goals When You Feel Overwhelmed

Have you ever felt like you have SO many goals—career, health, relationships, personal growth—but no idea where to start? You write them all down, but instead of feeling motivated, you just feel… overwhelmed?"

Trust me, I’ve been there too. Today, I’m going to share a powerful coaching framework called ‘Structural Alignment’ that will help you cut through the noise and focus on what truly matters. Let’s dive in!

If you’re currently working on a goal, such as advancing your career, and you’re working towards a promotion, you may have a sense of what you need to do to achieve that promotion. Now it’s a matter of getting those things done. Simple enough, correct. 

How to prioritise your goals when you feel overwhelmed

But what happens if, in addition to a career goal, you’re also working on getting healthier and perhaps improving your romantic relationship? 

And in every one of these goals, you know what needs to be done and you’re working on them to the best of your ability.. 

But what if it gets too much.. How do you prioritize your goals? Which one is more important, or are all important? Well, before I share with you a coaching model I personally use to prioritize my goals and a lot of coaches use the same model with their clients, let me show you how I used to work on my goals before..

When I was working in my advertising job, I felt completely pressed for time.. Work-life balance didn’t exist for me! I wish I knew then what I know now, if you’re here, believe me, I know what it feels like.. 

You’re working hard at your job, but you also would like time for other goals such as your health, your relationships, or maybe you’d like to learn something new or pursue a hobby.. Not being able to work on your goals can be frustrating..

And even though you may know you have all these goals you’d like to work on, which one do you choose? You’ve heard the word ‘prioritise’ so much before, but how do you practically prioritize your goals?

This is where structural alignment can be a powerful tool to prioritize your goals. This is a coaching framework that a lot of coaches use with their coaches to get powerful breakthroughs. 

I’ve not only used this with my clients but also use it for my personal goals.. The framework has 4 steps.

Step no. 1 Your Truth

Is about getting brutally honest about where you are right now. Most overwhelm comes from trying to do everything at once without acknowledging our real limitations..

You may feel like every goal of yours is urgent and it’s important but is it? Before you even determine the order of priority for your goals, here are a few things to consider..

- What goals are truly yours vs. society’s/family’s expectations?

- What can you realistically handle right now? (Time, energy, resources) 

- What’s draining you vs. fulfilling you?

Write down your answers. This isn’t about judging yourself—it’s about gaining clarity.  

Once you’ve answered these questions, consider your goals and now if you were to put it in a priority for yourself, write it down in order of priority.

While deciding on the priority of your goals, it’s best to be objective. Imagine if you were doing this for a loved one, if you were deciding for them their immediate goals based on concern for their overall health..

What would be the order of goals?  For example, yes, that promotion seems like a pressing goal you want to accomplish, but your health has been poor of late, it’s a no-brainer that getting healthier is a far higher priority than working late nights to complete a project.. 

Putting some sort of distance while prioritizing your goals and being objective can help reduce overwhelm and thinking that every goal is a priority, because it may only seem like that. You can work on all your goals, just not at the same time!

The second step- Defining your vision

Your Vision is —your ideal future. Most people set goals randomly, but aligned goals come from a clear vision.. Think of your vision as being broader than your goals. Your vision is more flexible than your goals. 

Here are a few questions that help you define your vision.

Exercise:

- Imagine yourself 5 years from now. What does your best life look like?  

- What 3 areas matter most? (Health, career, relationships, etc.)*  

- Which goals, if achieved, would make everything else easier?*  

Your vision acts like a compass—helping you say yes to what aligns and no to what doesn’t with your goals.

An example of this is: If your vision is to run a successful business of your own, think of whether your daily habits and lifestyle are aligned with that vision. If it isn’t, maybe your vision isn’t as important to you or if it then maybe you need to relook at your habits and lifestyle and check your alignment. 

Step 3: Purpose – Connect to Your ‘Why’

Now, Purpose is the deeper reason behind your goals. Without purpose, even big achievements feel empty.

Exercise:

- For each goal, ask: ‘Why is this important to me?’ (Dig 3 layers deep.)  

- Example: "I want a promotion." → Why? "To feel respected" → Why? To believe in myself.

- Keep only the goals tied to your core values

I believe that when your goals are purpose-driven, aligned with your vision, then the motivation to work on those goals comes naturally..

Step 4: Spiritual Awareness – Trust the Process

Finally, Spiritual Awareness—recognizing that you don’t have to force everything. Surrender control and trust the timing of the universe.  

Exercise:

-  Which goals feel ‘light’ vs. ‘heavy’? (Intuition check!) 

-  Practice letting go of goals that no longer serve you.

-  Affirmation: ‘I focus on what’s aligned, and release the rest. 

Peace comes from knowing you’re on the right path—not doing it all.  

Now, take your goals and filter them through these steps. Keep only the ones that pass all four! 

After working with several clients, I believe that overwhelm happens when we try to work on goals from a space of wanting to get everything done. But you don’t have to. Focus on what’s true, be aligned, and meaningful.

If you’d like to book a free coaching session with me, you can do that by signing up here

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I’m curious which goal you are prioritizing for yourself? Drop it in the comments! And if this helped, hit like, subscribe, and share with someone who needs it. 

Till next week, remember what you want matters, and it’s really up to you to make it happen!