Mastering the Art of Prioritization in Your Tasks
Remember this video from the '90s?
This is a list of things you don't want to forget! So what can you do? Well, we've put together a list of seven steps to help you prioritize and focus on the important tasks at hand. Let's get down to business!
1. First, make a list of everything that comes out on your plate every day. (Just in case, make sure it's not too overwhelming).
2. Ask yourself which are the most important or highest priority items for this day (you'll find that many will not need as much time as you might think). If not, put these items as #1 and work with them first. 3 . Now, put the ones that are most important or highest priority for this day on your calendar. The rest can be put on a "to do" list or leave them for tomorrow. 4. Put anything else that you need to complete in a separate notebook for later completion, but don't forget to keep it on your calendar . It's important to remind yourself of these things when you get back home from work every day and other deadlines may be looming. While this may seem quite simple and straightforward, many companies struggle with priorities and tasks at hand. Too often, we forget what is important and try to complete it by working for too long hours. This is the wrong approach.
5. Find ways to be efficient so that you can achieve more in less time. For example, using a timer during your work will let you focus on one task at a time (to remove distractions) and have a check point for how much time you've spent on your tasks before moving on to the next one .
Also, make sure you schedule some breaks throughout your day or use it as an opportunity to come up with new ideas for bigger projects that require more thought . 6. Keep your goals in mind! Remember that there are many different approaches to working and doing things efficiently (e.g. Agile, Scrum). 7. Make sure that you are enjoying yourself (yes, you heard us right: if you're not enjoying what you are doing, then why waste your time doing it?) .
You should never have to force yourself to work if it's not fun, so make sure that your tasks are something that you actually enjoy and want to do.
There is still one important thing left though: how do we set goals? There are three main areas we must focus on in order to get there: Setting clear goals. Knowing your strengths and weaknesses. Setting priorities for what's important first.
In order to achieve this, we must break down the goals into smaller pieces. Setting clear goals: Before you start a task or project, make sure to have clear goals. What is your goal exactly? What do you want to accomplish by doing this task? Why is this important for you and your company? Sometimes, knowing what we want to achieve can be difficult because we might be focusing on too many things at once.
Having trouble putting it all together? We understand that setting a goal can sometimes seem overwhelming or even frustrating! Again, remember that there are many different approaches in achieving certain tasks (Agile, Scrum) and some of them take time before they have the desired effect.
So, what should you do? It's good to break your goals down into small steps and think about what's most important and urgent first . This will help you with the planning part. Knowing strengths and weaknesses: Knowing your own strengths and weaknesses will only take time, but it will also be an important resource when planning out your tasks. Think about where you might be lacking in certain areas of functionality (e.g. design, programming, marketing). What are you good at? What are you not so good at? Do this by thinking about how your specific area of expertise helps to solve problems for the best results or simply how it fits into the bigger picture (if you're not sure don't worry!).
These are questions that you should ask yourself, but the better thing to do is to talk with your team . One way of doing this would be to conduct a retro every day (or every week). This will help you and your team focus on what's most important and urgent and make sure that everyone understands what is expected from them. Once you've completed all these steps, it's time to keep track of it! Remembering what you've done will help you keep an eye out on how much progress you are making towards your goals. A good way of doing this is by keeping a daily log for your tasks or use project management tools such as Trello, Asana, Basecamp or others .
Using a tool like Trello or Asana, for example, is quite straightforward and easy to use (and there are many others). All you have to do is set up boards for your specific projects and create cards for each of your tasks. You can then put them in different columns based on when you want to complete the task or when it's due . This will help you plan out your work by organizing everything in one place. However, the key here is to keep things simple . Each board should have a clear purpose. For example, you might have only 1 column titled "Next actions". A board with 6 columns will be more difficult to manage and comprehend than a board with 3 columns where each column has only one purpose.
If you're using a project management tool such as Trello or Asana, make sure to set up a calendar . For example, create a card for each day of the week and put your daily tasks on there. This way, you'll always know what's coming up next and how much time you have available. Organize your tasks based on what is most important.
Here are some examples: - Create a card for each task and set up an estimate of how long it will take (for example: 2 hours). You can also put dates on when the task should be completed by in order to make sure that everything is marked on your calendar (e.g. 1-2 days before the deadline). - You could also create cards for each day of the week if you want to keep track of how much time you are spending on different tasks. - You could also create cards for what you're going to work on at certain times during the day (for example: in the morning, in the afternoon, before bed, etc.) . Prioritizing tasks:
Whichever approach you choose, make sure that it's easy for you and your team to follow. The most important thing about setting up a system for yourself (or your team) is that it is easy and straightforward.
Conclusion You've probably noticed that we mentioned a lot of time management tips throughout this article, so if you have any questions, don't hesitate to comment! Now, go and start saving more time!
At the end of the day, there is no point in doing things in an improper way. You'll simply waste your time and will find ways to waste even more. So make sure that you're using all these tips every single day . We're always here to help out! Thank us later for our help and be sure to check out our other useful articles on time management.