It happened to me again this week. I had my agenda all laid out, my goals selected, my action items scheduled. Then I had an unexpected problem raise its ugly head. There was a technical issue that had to be addressed immediately. If the issue wasn’t corrected, one part of my business would grind to a crawl. My original priorities had to be put on hold while I diverted my time and energy to this new issue.

Has this ever happened to you? You have your plans decided on, and something new pops up that needs to be taken care of immediately. It may be a project dropped in your lap at the last minute, a flat tire needing to be changed, or a computer crashing.

When life suddenly changes your priorities, you may wonder what’s happening. You already decided what was most important, but life had other plans. You may feel guilty when your priorities get shoved to the side because something unanticipated takes precedence. “Why didn’t I see this coming?” you may ask.

Your priorities are still important. It’s just that the unwelcome surprise is more immediate. It’s a crisis that needs to be dealt with before you can move forward with your original goals.

When you have something like this happen, be gentle with yourself. Take care of the unforeseen concern. And then re-prioritize the rest of your goals. Decide which is #1, #2, and #3 and so on. And instead of trying to work on them all, start on the first step of #1 and continue until #1 is complete.

This prevents a sense of overwhelm and gives you a feeling of accomplishment. While you cope with the immediate issue, you’re still addressing a priority, being true to your vision. Getting it done may simply take a little longer than you expected.