Do you ever feel like people today are busier than ever? From professional work to personal projects, and the duties we have to family and friends. So many different tasks and priorities demand our attention each day. In this modern and busy world, it can be so easy to wake up in the morning and feel overwhelmed by the mere sight of your to-do list. This feeling, in turn, often gives rise to anxiety and a sense of paralysis, which can prevent you from getting anything done at all.
If the above sentiments are relatable to you, fret not. You probably just need to clarify what your priorities are—and you may even benefit from a structured prioritisation method. There’s no shortage of online training courses for professionals that promise to teach the necessary skills for efficient priority management. As a starting point, you may also simply read on to get some tips to help get you going. We’ve prepared a list of practical strategies to begin identifying your most important tasks and managing your time efficiently thereafter.
List Down All Your To-Do’s
To begin prioritising effectively, it’s important to understand the whole scope of everything you need to get done. Try writing down all your work-related and personal tasks, however mundane, in one place. Once you have a full picture of everything on your plate, you can then think about how to prioritise the tasks on your list in order to make the most of your day. Typically, it makes sense to start determining your priorities by considering the following factors:
·      Whether the task is important
·      Whether it needs to be accomplished urgently
·      How long it will take you to complete
·      How much effort it will take you to complete
Identify Urgent vs. Important Tasks
Most kinds of effective priority planning revolve around determining two primary variables already mentioned above: urgency and importance. Urgency, in this case, refers to how immediately the task in question requires your attention and action. Importance, meanwhile, refers to how much a task contributes toward advancing your larger, long-term goals. Deciding which of your tasks to do first will most often entail thoughtful consideration of both these factors.
To strategically categorise your tasks according to both importance and urgency, consider making use of the Eisenhower Matrix. Named after its originator, former American president Dwight Eisenhower, the Eisenhower Matrix asks you to sort tasks into four categories. It then prescribes a specific course of action for each category, as below:
·      High urgency, high importance: Attend to the task immediately.
·      Low urgency, high importance: Schedule the task for a time that you will be able to give it your full attention.
·      High urgency, low importance: Attend to these tasks only when you have time to do so. Consider delegating them to someone else when possible.
·      Low urgency, low importance: Remove these tasks from your schedule.
Make a Most Important Tasks (MIT) List
If you’d really like to be ruthless about your priorities, try to list your most important tasks as soon as you get up in the morning. An MIT list should be short—ideally comprised of no more than two or three non-negotiable items you think you must accomplish for the day. These should be the tasks that you feel will either advance your goals the most in both the short and the long term or bring you the greatest rewards. Given the benefits you can gain from achieving them, it makes sense for you to prioritise these tasks above all your other daily duties.
Once you’ve nailed down your MITs, you can then try to structure your day such that you can make time for them at your most productive hours
Pay Attention to Your Circadian Rhythms
Circadian rhythms are the body’s natural sleep-wake cycle, which usually (but not always) also coincide with the hours of the day. Your circadian rhythms dictate how tired or energetic you feel, when you get hungry, and when you go to sleep and for how long. Though they’re largely genetic, you may notice your particular circadian rhythms changing as you age or make significant changes to your lifestyle.
Generally, most people follow one of two types of circadian rhythms. Early birds are most active in the morning and tend to go to bed before midnight. By contrast, night owls are more likely to sleep through the day and wake at night, and find themselves most energetic in the late hours. Determine the hours of the day at which your own energy and productivity levels are highest and you’ll be able to work more effectively. Try to align your most important tasks with your most productive hours for the best results.
Eat the Frog
The writer Mark Twain once compared the unusual and unlikely task of eating frogs to the worst tasks of a person’s day—and that it’s best if you go ahead and eat the frogs first before doing anything else on your to-do list.
Strange-sounding advice, certainly, but as a prioritisation technique, all it means is that you should get your hardest tasks out of the way as early as possible. The more you put off doing a difficult or unpleasant job, after all, the harder it will be to work up the energy and motivation to actually do it. In the process, you may even end up procrastinating and holding up the rest of your to-do’s. By contrast, sucking up your trepidation and eating your frog at the start of your day will make your other tasks look much more doable by comparison.
Practising effective priority management is a fail-safe way to make the most productive use of your time. It can do wonders for your well-being as well. Setting your priorities in order will directly reduce work-related anxiety, prevent burnout, and empower you to strive toward your long-term goals. Once you’ve found prioritisation techniques that work for you, you’ll be able to perform at your best while also feeling your best, just as you deserve.
Browse Priority Management’s online courses and start prioritising tasks today!