158 Priority Quotes To Remind You What’s Important In Life

By Norbert Juma

Master quote curator and editor on a mission to inspire

Published October 31, 2023

Struggling to get your priorities in order?

These priority quotes will help you clarify what’s important to you in your life.

In today’s busy world, we can feel rushed to juggle too many responsibilities.

With seemingly not enough time in the day to get everything done, we often wonder what our top priority should be.

Ask anyone in your life and you will likely get different answers from different people.

This makes sense because most people will have different priorities.

How can you determine what your top priority should be?

Chances are, it’s the first thing that came to mind when you read that question.

For many people, the most important thing in life is family, whether that includes their spouse, their children, or other family members.

For other people, their top priority might be their health, faith, community, career, or personal growth.

Use this collection of priority quotes to help you find your top priority and get the rest of your priorities in order, and feel great about your life.

Also read these intuition quotes and sayings that will help you trust your your own instincts.

If you love this quote collection, read out our most popular quote article about short inspirational quotes for daily motivation.

If you need more inspirational quotes, check out our motivational quotes category page.

Priority Quotes About Time Management

1.) “If it’s a priority you’ll find a way. If it isn’t, you’ll find an excuse.” – Jim Rohn

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2.) “Instead of saying “I don’t have time” try saying “it’s not a priority,” and see how that feels.” – Laura Vanderkam

3.) “The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule but to schedule your priorities.” – Stephen Covey

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4.) “There’s nothing like a good night’s sleep to remember what your priorities are.” – Amy Reed

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5.) “You don’t get time. You create time.” – Sanhita Baruah

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6.) “Action expresses priorities.” – Mahatma Gandhi

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7.) “To change your life, you need to change your priorities.” – Mark Twain

8.) “There is no such thing as ‘I do not have the time’. This is all just a matter of priorities.” – Maciej Aniserowicz

9.) “In a way, I have simplified my life by setting priorities.” – Karen Duffy

10.) “My first priority is time with my family.” – Tom Selleck

11.) “Time management is an oxymoron. Time is beyond our control, and the clock keeps ticking regardless of how we lead our lives. Priority management is the answer to maximizing the time we have.” – John C. Maxwell

12.) “Most of us spend too much time on what is urgent and not enough time on what is important.” – Stephen Covey

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13.) “Productivity refers to both the action and the result of a process that centres on assessing one’s priorities and then acting on them.” – Melissa Steginus

14.) “Desires dictate our priorities, priorities shape our choices, and choices determine our actions.” – Dallin H. Oaks

15.) “Life is short. Focus on what really matters most; you should change your priorities over time.” – Roy T. Bennett

Priority Quotes About Work-Life Balance

16.) “Don’t be a time manager, be a priority manager. Cut your major goals into bite-sized pieces. Each small priority or requirement on the way to ultimate goal become a mini goal in itself.” – Denis Waitley

17.) “I believe that being successful means having a balance of success stories across the many areas of your life. You can’t truly be considered successful in your business life if your home life is in shambles.” – Zig Ziglar

18.) “It’s important to show each other your marriage is a priority.” – Zoe Foster Blake

19.) “I’ve always been very aware of balance and, even before I had a child, my life always takes priority to my work.” – Charlize Theron

20.) “I have a career, which is important, but my family is the priority. First family, and then career. It’s a delicate balance.” – Jimmy Cliff

priority quotes about choosing family first

21.) “Creative people don’t behave very well generally. If you’re looking for examples of good relationships in show business, you’re gonna be depressed real fast. I don’t have time for anything else right now but work and my daughter. She’s my first priority.” – Jim Carrey

22.) “Family has always been the number one priority no matter what happens anywhere else.” – Gloria Estefan

23.) “Be a father first. Don’t put a priority of being a friend with your wife first, or a friend with your kids first.” – Hulk Hogan

24.) “I’m quite an independent person, and I had to be. As a boy and growing into a young man I had to look out for myself. And now I’m very family-oriented. It’s a big priority in my life.” – Hugh Jackman

25.) “My first priority is trying to protect my family.” – Orlando Bloom

26.) “Connecting with my daughter is the most important thing in my life – the priority. I want to be a man who shows up for her. I want to have such a big influence on her, so that she knows she can call me about anything, which she does.” – Jamie Foxx

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27.) “Being a husband is for me as big a priority as being a father.” – Roger Federer

28.) “My children are my priority and always have been.” – Victoria Beckham

29.) “Never put your family, friends, or significant other low on your priority list. Prefer a handful of truly close friends to a hundred acquaintances.” – Sam Altman

30.) “When men or women make their work their top priority and become hostile to the normal, natural needs of their children and spouse – obviously, something is wrong.” – Laura Schlessinger

31.) “My family is my number one priority.” – Oren Etzioni

32.) “We’re parents first, and once you have kids, everybody knows that you have priority lists. Number one is your family and everything else just kind of finds its place.” – Tim McGraw

33.) “There’s no such thing as work-life balance. There are work-life choices, and you make them, and they have consequences.” – Jack Welch

34.) “A person has got to balance work and life and family in order to be a balanced person.” – P. J. O’Rourke

Priority Quotes About Happiness and Success

35.) “I have this really high priority on happiness and finding something to be happy about.” – Taylor Swift

36.) “Wise are those who learn that the bottom line doesn’t always have to be their top priority.” – William Arthur Ward

37.) “Perpetual devotion to what a man calls his business, is only to be sustained by perpetual neglect of many other things.”- Robert Louis Stevenson

38.) “Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance, order, rhythm and harmony.” – Thomas Merton

39.) “Your life will be a blessed and balanced experience if you first honor your identity and priority.” – Russell M. Nelson

40.) “Want to be successful? Change your priorities!” – Himmilicious

41.) “Let us reflect on what is truly of value in life, what gives meaning to our lives, and set our priorities on the basis of that.” – Dalai Lama

42.) “Often in life, we forget the things we should remember, and remember the things we should forget.” – Anonymous

43.) “The first step to success is knowing your priorities.” – Aspesh

44.) “Like it or not, the world evolves, priorities change and so do you.” – Marilu Henner

45.) “Your priorities are your character.” – Anonymous

46.) “When we tend to the areas of life that are important to us, when we make those things a priority, that’s when we will flourish in those areas.” – Victoria Osteen

Priority Quotes About Putting Your Priorities in Order

47.) “Each night before I go to bed, I take out a small card and write a list of the things I need to do the next day in order of their priority.” – Joseph B. Wirthlin

48.) “If your No. 1 priority isn’t winning, and people can tell? That’s the battle. Now there’s a problem between people, because that guy’s No. 1 priority is winning, and that guy’s isn’t.” – Jimmy Butler

49.) “Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

50.) “I do know that when I am 60, I should be attempting to achieve different personal goals than those which had priority at age 20.” – Warren Buffett

51.) “The most important thing in life is knowing the most important things in life.” – David F. Jakielo

52.) “We don’t drift in good directions. We discipline and prioritize ourselves there.” – Andy Stanley

53.) “Value your values by demonstrating your values.” – Richie Norton

54.) “Priorities shift every day; values once defined, stay same.” – John C. Maxwell

55.) “The way one uses the money now is a reflection of his or her life philosophy pertaining to core values and priorities. What will differ during scarcity or abundance thereof is the amounts but never the proportions.” – Lucas D. Shallua

56.) “We can tell our values by looking at our checkbook stubs.” – Gloria Steinem

57.) “A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both.” – Dwight D. Eisenhower

58.) “We get real results only in proportion to the real values we give.” – James Cash Penney

59. “May you always value the simple little things in Life. For they make a big difference and hence are the most important.” – Omar Cherif

60. “Remember you must always put your country first, your family second, and yourself third.” – Prince Serge Oblensky

More priority quotes and sayings

61. “Focus on your priorities before your priorities lose focus on you.” – Sarah Leigh

62. “Good things happen not by managing time but by prioritizing attention.” – Richie Norton

63. “Subtracting from your list of priorities is as important as adding to it.” – Frank Sonnenberg

64. “Whatever keeps you from reaching your goals today had better be important – it’s costing you a day of your life!” – Nido R. Qubein

65. “Your priorities determine your happiness — place them in order and act on them.” – Francis Shenstone

66. “Decide what you want, decide what you are willing to exchange for it. Establish your priorities and go to work.” – H.L. Hunt

67. “Having priorities is essential. So is having them in the right order.” – Michael Hyatt

68. “Some things are very important and some are very unimportant. To know the difference is what we are given life to find out.” – Anna F. Trevisan

Priority Quotes for Inspiration

69. “Thinking changes priorities, Priorities change lives.” – Nitin Namdeo

70. “Never make someone your priority when all you are to them is an option.” – Maya Angelou

71. “Happiness is not a priority for me.I prefer the dangers of being madly in love.” – Paulo Coelho

72. “Life is about doing things that matter first, not last” – Richie Norton

73. “Know what matters most to you and be unwilling to compromise those priorities at almost any price.” – Frank Sonnenberg

74. “The root of productivity is in personal priorities. Know what matters to you and why.” – Melissa Steginus

75. “Our greatest danger in life is in permitting the urgent things to crowd out the important.” – Charles E. Hummel

76.) “You always have time for things you put first.” – Anonymous

77. “Lack of time is actually lack of priorities.” – Tim Ferriss

78. “Good things happen when you get your priorities straight.” – Scott Caan

Priority Quotes To Help You Achieve Goals

79. “You owe it to yourself to make your creative development a top priority.” ― Nita Leland

80. “To succeed today, you have to set priorities, decide what you stand for.” ― Sarvesh Jain

81. “When you learn how to set priorities, you will have enough sense to differentiate between urgent and important.” ― Nitin Namdeo

82. “You won’t change until changing becomes one of your priorities instead of one of your options.” ― Sonya Parker

83. “Change according to the Spirit all your priorities, and then joy is your own.” ― Nirmala Srivastava

84. “There are good men out there. There are guys who have their priorities straight, who take care of their kids, who respect their mothers.” ― Pepa

85. “If you just make every effort to do the right thing, you’ll come out ok. It comes down to priorities and making good decisions.” ― Archie Manning

86. “Make priorities based on your goals and not desires.” ― Nitin Namdeo

87. “Success is only another form of failure if we forget what our priorities should be.” ― Harry Lloyd

88. “Only those who are well aware of the instability of life give importance to priorities in life.” ― Nitin Namdeo

Priority Quotes To Keep Us on Track

89. “Priorities and purpose help keep us on track.” — Candace Cameron

90. “My testimony helps me to establish priorities in my life.” — LaVell Edwards

91. Raising wages is one of my top priorities.” — Donald Trump

92. “You need to have sufficient resources against your priorities. Your eyes have to be open every day.” — Michael J. Silverstein

93. “No one understands the shift in priorities about having a child in your life… until you have a child in your life.” — Sandra Bullock

94. “I love what I do professionally, I’m really blessed. But my priority is my husband and my children.” — Victoria Beckham

95. “My priority will be making sure my family is happy and settled.” — Michelle Obama

96. “Never allow someone to be your priority while allowing yourself to be their option.” — Mark Twain

97. “I exercise a lot, and I love it. I’m fine. But you know, I’d like to be alive in ten years, that’d be my priority.” — Robert Greene

98. “Making the family a top priority will invariably bring success.” — Zig Ziglar

Priority Quotes To Be an Organised Person

99. “Be Aware of Your Priorities and Live by Them Not rigidly, but mindfully.” — Janet G. Woititz

100. “A great leader must focus the time and energy on the highest priorities and must maintain the single-minded, unwavering resolve to see each issue to completion.” — C. William Creighton

101. “Priorities are things you have to get done either to help you achieve your goals, pay the bills, or keep your family safe and comfortable.” — Steve Tobak

102. “By prioritising you do away with the stress, that comes from being disorganized and overwhelmed.” — Joginder Singh

103. “Priorities define life and help successful men to make the best out of their lives.” — Bruce Schultz

104. “Passion is hidden motivator that dictates and drives every decision and determines life priorities.” — Chima Kingston Ekeke

105. “Prioritise your values to determine which is the most important.” — Wayne Harris

106. “Priorities are set based on an understanding of the world and where you want to be in that world.” — Ezekiel Umo Ette

107. “Your priorities aren’t what you say they are. They’re what your life shows they are.” — David Akers

108. “Get organized. Set priorities. Invest your time to get results.” — Manzoor R. Massey

Priority Quotes for Important Things in Your Life

109. “Skill development remains our priority. We are blessed with a demographic dividend that can take us to great heights.” — Narendra Modi

110. “Priority is a function of context.” — Stephen R. Covey

111. “The necessary has never been man s top priority.The passionate pursuit of the nonessential and the extravagant is one of the chief traits of human uniqueness.” — Eric Hoffer

112. “In a storm, remembering and focusing on our priorities is a matter of survival.” ― Holly Wagner

113. “It’s not what we say is a priority, but what we actually do that’s a priority.” — J.D. Roth

114. “Your decisions reveal your priorities.” — Jeff Van Gundy

115. “Sometimes things in life happen that allow us to understand our priorities very clearly. Ultimately you can see those as gifts.” — Mariska Hargitay

116. “The greatest reflection of your priorities is your time. Whatever you say about what matters to you, the true test is where you place your time.” — Nick Crocker

117. “Decide what your priorities are and how much time you’ll spend on them. If you don’t, someone else will.” — Harvey Mackay

118. “In all planning you make a list and you set priorities.” — Alan Lakein

Priority Quotes to Focus on What Matters

119. “Having my priorities in order has really helped me look better, fresher, and more relaxed.” — Kim Cattrall

120. “Being a mom is what life is about. I hope people realize what the priorities in life should be and know not everything has to be perfect.” — Kourtney Kardashian

121. “Basketball used to be my top priority.” — Derek Fisher

122. “People often ask me how I keep my priorities straight in life and I tell them that it is done by constantly straightening them out!” — Joyce Meyer

123. “Loss provides an opportunity to take inventory of our lives, to reconsider priorities, and to determine new directions.” — Gerald Lawson Sittser

124. “Every day is a good day to examine our prime-time priorities.” — William Arthur Ward

125. “I have ignored my health for years, but recent developments have forced me to re-evaluate my priorities of faith and family.” — Urban Meyer

126. “Football is the priority, even more than school. Art is frowned upon. I had to sneak music in.” — Kevin McCall

127. “Those who enter into marriage, must be fully prepared to establish their marriage, as the first priority in their lives.” — James E. Faust

128. “We should be treating, I think, the whole issue of climate change and global warming with a far greater degree of priority than I think is happening now.” — Prince Charles

Priority Quotes to Guide Your Life’s Most Important Choices

129. “Control your own time. Don’t let it be done for you. If you are working off the in-box that is fed you, you are probably working on the priority of others.” — Donald Rumsfeld

130. “I like a woman with priorities.” — Kyan Douglas

131. “What I didn’t realize is how completely consumed I would be by my sons. I didn’t know that the rest of my life would become so little a priority.” — Jodie Foster

132. “There are four purposes of improvement: easier, better, faster, and cheaper. These four goals appear in the order of priority.” — Shigeo Shingo

133. “For some people, only a crisis can cause them to rethink their priorities.” ― John C. Maxwell

134. “Serving our end users is at the heart of what we do and remains our number one priority.” — Larry Page

135. “There must be a priority of values in all our lives.” — Richard L. Evans

136. “People have to decide on priorities if they want to get anywhere. The best lessons I learned was to just do it.” — Richard Branson

137. “If you don’t have time, you don’t have priorities.” — Tim Ferriss

138. “Your health and well being should be your number one priority, nothing else is more important.” — Robert Cheeke

Priority Quotes for Balanced Living

139. “When you make feeling good a priority, that magnificent frequency will radiate and touch everyone close to you.” — Rhonda Byrne

140. “Unfortunately, many people do not consider fun an important item on their daily agenda. For me, that was always a high priority in whatever I was doing.” — Chuck Yeager

141. “If you will make time with God your first priority, everything else in your life will fall into place.” — Joyce Meyer

142. “Things change when you have children; your priorities change.” — Joe Namath

143. Focus on one thing, make it your priority, and stick with it no matter what!” — Tyler Perry

144. “Nobody’s life is ever all balanced. It’s a conscious decision to choose your priorities every day.” — Elisabeth Hasselbeck

145. You must make your dream a priority in order for it to become your life” — Bob Proctor

146. “Don’t prioritize your schedule, schedule those priorities.” — Stephen Covey

147. “When priorities are proper, the power to endure is increased. And when internalized, those priorities will help keep you from “going overboard.”” — Russell M. Nelson

148. “When priorities are in place, one can more patiently tolerate unfinished business.” — Russell M. Nelson

149. “Indeed, how we rank or prioritize our values is deeply important, since this gives direction to our lives. To this end, we want to choose our values wisely.” ― Jennifer Wilson Mulnix

150. “As we become increasingly mindful we’re increasingly likely to prioritise peace, live a more balanced and regular lifestyle and to therefore enjoy more of it — right now, right here.” ― Stephen McKenzie

151. “We fall into emotional reasoning when we prioritise our feelings and assume they reflect reality.” ― Jennifer Wild

152. “In managing priorities you can be reactive, adaptive or proactive.” ― Keith Abraham

153. “Learn to prioritise and create ‘you time’. The more you invest in yourself the more energy you will have for your life.” ― Annie Lionnet

154. “Choose peace over an upset. Choose to be grateful. Choose to forgive. Choose to make happiness a priority.” ― Allen Klein

155. “It seems that the older I get, the more my priorities change, and some tasks end up on hold longer.” ― Michelle Tullier

156. “Did you know…an average person who develops the habit of setting clear priorities each day and getting the most important task done first will run circles around a genius?” ― Christy Tryhus