Despite all the technological development that humanity has reached, the hours of the day are still the same. There are only 24 hours in a day, and you have to get everything done—work, study, other housework, and so on. Sometimes a simple to-do list becomes ineffective, and you find yourself overwhelmed with urgent tasks without any idea how to deal with them.
So what is the solution?
The solution to this problem lies in effective time management and prioritization, which is a simple principle, as all you have to do is write down the tasks that you have to perform before others and arrange them according to importance. However, there is always a problem that hinders the prioritization process, which is the emergence of new tasks that may be more important than the previous ones. The business world is constantly changing, and there are constant changes and developments that impact our plans.How we deal with these changes and how quickly we adapt to them determines our success or failure in completing the tasks assigned to us.
How do I prioritize when everything seems important?
You may be one of those who have a hard time setting their priorities, especially when new tasks start popping up and crowding into their schedules.
Do not worry; in today’s article, we have collected for you a set of tips that will help you prioritize even at a time when you feel that all your work is of equal importance.
1- Write down all the things you need to do.
Mastering the skill of prioritizing will have a great impact on you, as you will be able to:
- Getting a lot done in a timely manner.
- Climb the career ladder more quickly.
- Get more free time to spend on your favorite activities.
To achieve this, the first step is to make a list of all the things you need to do. Write down the tasks you have to do today, tomorrow, during the next week, and during the next month as well. And don’t worry about their order; we’ll get to that in the next point. Just write it all down.
2- Ask yourself: Which of these things really matter?
There is no doubt that you now have a long list of important things and tasks that you must perform, all of which may seem like urgent priorities. However, some of these tasks will be more important than others; some of them will be important priorities, and others will be less important priorities. Begin by writing one of these four words next to each task on the list:
- Accomplishment: In addition to the most important urgent tasks.
- Postpone: Next to tasks that can be delayed a bit.
- Power of attorney: In addition to tasks that someone other than you can do.
- Cancel: Next to tasks that are not needed now.
If you are not yet able to determine the nature of each task, do not worry; there are still other ways to help you achieve this.
3- Use the golden triangle
The golden triangle, or “iron triangle,” as some call it, is an effective way to set priorities, and it’s an important principle used by project managers everywhere. Here’s how it works:
- Represent each of the tasks on your list with an equilateral triangle, with each side representing an essential component of the task’s completion.
- These elements are: the time required to complete the task “Time,” the budget you need or the cost “Cost,” and finally the characteristics of the task and its advantages “Scope.”
- Remember that changing one of these elements will affect the other two. If you decide, for example, to complete the task in less time, you will need in this case to either increase the cost of completing the task or reduce its quality (its characteristics), or both, and the same applies to the rest of the elements.
- Now compare the tasks you have. Which ones allow you to manipulate their elements, such as extending their execution time or changing their properties?
- The tasks that you find immutable in terms of characteristics or timing will be the most important and should be placed at the top of the list. As for the other tasks that require a degree of flexibility, they will come after that.
4- Use the Eisenhower Matrix
The Eisenhower Matrix appeared to arrange priorities depending on their importance and urgency of implementation, as the matrix consists of two rows and two columns, as shown in the image below.
Go back to your list of tasks and start distributing them in the four fields according to their importance and the extent of their urgency. Where you can use the attributes that you wrote next to each task in point number one is as follows:
- The urgent and the important: The tasks for which the word “achievement” is written.
- The task that is not urgent is: The tasks that have been written have a “postponement.” Here, set a tentative date for completion.
- Urgent but unimportant: tasks for which you have written a “power of attorney” that you can assign to someone else.
- Unimportant and non-urgent: These are the tasks for which you wrote “cancel,” and for which you do not need to waste your time.
As for the tasks for which you have not written anything, here you can think about them and categorize them in one of the four boxes based on their importance and the need to complete them soon.
5- The frog ate first!
“Eat That Frog” is the name of a book by Brian Tracy, and it is an English term for having to start doing difficult tasks first, even if you don’t want to. Here, the famous American writer and author of the Tom Sawyer novel, Mark Twain, advises: “If you start eating the frog first (doing that task on your list that you avoid starting), the rest of the day will pass as a smooth cruise.”
Do not allow delay and procrastination to control you, as the beginning of your day will determine the extent of your productivity and the effectiveness of your performance. Accomplish that difficult and boring task, and you will see the effect of this on the rest of the tasks on your list.
6- Use the ABCDE method to set your priorities.
Everything on your to-do list may seem like a big deal, but it really isn’t. The ABCDE methodology is another method that helps you determine the importance of the businesses on your list. You can use them as follows:
- Take a look at your to-do list and write a letter from A to E next to each task, with A representing the most important work.
- After you have given each task a letter, go back to the tasks next to which you wrote the letter A and give each of them a number that expresses the order in which these tasks will be completed.
- Repeat the process with the rest of the tasks until each one has a letter and a number in front of it, and then you will be able to differentiate between the great priorities and the secondary tasks.
7- Be realistic.
Despite all your best efforts to get your work done in a timely manner, there remains a good chance that things will not go exactly as you planned. Things around you may change, and a new task may emerge that is more important than all the previous ones, so it is important to be flexible and realistic about what you can do.
In the event that you find yourself very busy and unable to complete all the tasks assigned to you, review your priority list again and determine from it what can be postponed, delegated to someone else, or even canceled.
8- Stop constantly checking your email.
No doubt you’ve heard this advice before, but when it comes to setting your priorities successfully, it’s worth mentioning again. Stop checking your email every few minutes. According to a survey of over 20,000 employees, those who improve their email management, know how to identify what is important from it, and then focus on it only without being distracted by the rest of the less important messages, are the most successful.
Also, make sure that checking email is not the first thing you do in the morning when you get to work, because this way you waste a lot of your time responding to others and solving their problems instead of focusing on your goals and tasks.
9- Make the most of the technology available to you.
Technology has emerged in all its forms to make human life easier, so why not take advantage of it and harness it to serve you?
Choose what you think is best for you from the available applications and use it to organize and track your tasks.Maybe you prefer using Google Sheets, or you might find task management apps like Trello and Asana to work for you. There are hundreds of options available on the Internet, and you are free to choose!
10- Take the advice of Warren Buffett
According to Warren Buffet, an American businessman and the third richest person in the world for the year 2014, the shortest way to reach our long-term goals is to get rid of the side obstacles that stand in our way. To do so, take this successful man’s advice:
- Take a piece of paper and a pen, and write down 25 goals that you would like to achieve in the long or short term.
- Circle your five most important goals.
- These five goals are what you should start working towards, and the rest are secondary side goals that do not require the same amount of effort and energy from you.
11- Do not hesitate to ask others for help.
Some people may view the “deputation” part in a negative way, given that they are not used to asking for help from others, but what these people do not know is that assignment is an important skill that must be learned.
- Do not hesitate to talk to your boss, as he may be able to help you and relieve your stress.
- There is no harm in assigning the new trainee in your company to do some less important tasks, as he is undoubtedly excited to learn about new aspects of the job.
- Your colleagues may be more skilled than you in some aspects, so ask them to help you, as this will save you a lot of time and give you the opportunity to complete more important tasks.
12- Apply the theory of the five causes
The Japanese “Five Whys” theory helps you see how important the tasks and priorities on your list are. And it’s very easy:
- Choose a specific task and state the reasons why it is of great importance.
- The fewer reasons why this task is a priority for you, the more important it is.
- If you need to write more than 5 justifications for this task being on the list of priorities, then it means that it is not that important.
This was a set of tips and methods that helped you set your priorities. You can use all of them or a number of them in determining your priorities and the importance of each. Of course, there may be days when you fail to control things and feel that everything on your list is very important and must be completed immediately.
Maintain your focus in such situations and take a time-out to move away from the work atmosphere before returning to it with a fresh look that enables you to properly arrange tasks and priorities.
Read also: What are active listening skills and how do you develop them?
