Prioritizing

I have a friend that is always telling me that I "need deadlines." Anytime she asks me to do something, no matter how small, she gives me a date that I am expected to have this thing done.  I need deadlines because I prioritize and anything that doesn't have a consequence when it isn't done is moved ot the bottom of the list (and almost never gets done). 
Everyday I must:
1. Take care of my children's needs (this is at the top for a reason).
2. Make some progress on my work for my employer
3. Make sure that our plants have enough water and things are harvested as needed.

Beyond the above tasks, I then prioritize the deadlines I have been given.  I have specific deadlines for lots of things:
1.  planting things in the garden.
2.  turning things into my employer
3. scheduling activities for my kids
4. other obligations

One might say that I am in over my head when I have to prioritize to the extent that I am.  At this point, I agree and therefore, over the next several weeks my posts might be a bit more sporatic as I weed a few things out of my priority list. This is a busy time for both the company that I work for and in the garden.  By the beginning of June, I hope to be posting a bit more regularly again.  I will be thinning some things out permanently in the next few weeks to make more time for family, homesteading activities, and blogging. Time management is a very important part of homesteading.

What are your strategies for prioritizing?  When do you realize you have to give up something?