How to Prioritize Your Work
June 21, 2006
Regardless of whether you are a student, work at home mom, a web designer, or a CEO of a Fortune 500 company, prioritizing your work is critical to your success. Failing to prioritize your work load usually results in being extremely inefficient and extremely stressed out. How many times have you thought to yourself “I have so much to do today, how am I ever going to get it all done?â€
There is no exact science to prioritizing, but there are several tips that should help you become a more efficient, less stressed version of your current self:
Make a list – this may seem obvious but you’d be surprised at how many people try to organize their tasks in their head. You’ll often find that you feel a lot better just getting everything out so that you can see it in one place.
Consider time constraints – what absolutely needs to get done today and what can wait until tomorrow or next week. Everything may be important eventually, but some things are more important now.
Consider people constraints – all things equal, move things that other people are waiting on to the top of the list. If you know that your manager can’t finish his proposal without your part, that’s more important than the thing that you always do on Wednesday that could just as well be done on Thursday.
Consider the consequences – are you going to get fired if you don’t do something? Is another task going to give you the inside track on that promotion? Those things should be more important than mildly inconveniencing the sales manager by responding to their email a day late.
Re-prioritize as necessary – let’s face it, priorities change. As they do, update your list. It will give you a sense of control over the situation.
Remove unimportant items – is there something on your list that you always push to the bottom and never end up doing? Then get it off the list. It doesn’t belong there.
Don’t list EVERYTHING – only list crucial tasks. You don’t need to list routine tasks (like lunch) or menial tasks (like checking your email). Also, you’re going into too much detail if you put down prioritizing as a task.
Do everything you can to keep your list small – this means saying NO sometimes. You are not other people’s gopher. Do your work and help other people with theirs when you have something to offer, but don’t do their work for them. Along the same lines, learn to delegate things to the people that are supposed to be doing them. Why book your plane tickets when you have an assistant for that?
Adam McFarland owns iPrioritize – the efficient way to get organized. iPrioritize is the next evolution of list making. We take your pen and paper list and turn it into a live list that can be edited at any time from any place in the world. We make it easy for you to email and print your list, subscribe to your list via RSS, share your list with others, and check your list on your mobile phone.
Looking for more information?
Here are a few more selections you may enjoy:
The Pitfalls of the Work From Home Craze: More than 4 million people currently have the good fortune of working from home. From major corporations letting their. . . (click title link to read more)The Ultimate Guide To Finding Treasures At Garage Sales: First, prioritize the sales by time and potential for good items. An ad that includes antiques or collectibles in the. . . (click title link to read more)
Ready, Set, Simplify: Tips to Simplify Your Life: Do you feel frazzled? Do you have too much to do and not enough time? Life is complicated! Do you. . . (click title link to read more)
Organizational Tips For Internet Home Based Business Success: Starting from the Fundamentals and doing it right, often builds confidence and motivates us to reach our goal much sooner. . . (click title link to read more)
How To Safely Find A Domestic Cleaner: If you are considering taking on a domestic cleaner then there are things you should learn about them before you. . . (click title link to read more)
Choosing An SEO Consultant: While the most important thing in creating a webpage is the designer a consultant knowledgeable in SEO is even more. . . (click title link to read more)
Golf Etiquette Toward Maintenance Personnel: We all know that it is considered "bad form" to hit a ball towards another player, but you might be. . . (click title link to read more)
Learning To Balance Working At Home: Learning to balance a work at home job with a family life can be difficult. Often, after people have decided. . . (click title link to read more)