Tips to Prioritize Tasks at your Workplace
Pending tasks and impending deadlines are a consistent and ever-present part of your work life. One moment you have all your work sorted out and the next moment there will be several tasks lining up on your to-do list.
● First step is to gather all the pending tasks and make a to-do list. This may seem like a trivial exercise, but having this list makes it easier to set the order of importance of things and come up with a task plan.
● The next step is to sort out the listed tasks based on importance and urgency. There are a few methods to effectively organize the to-do list.
▪ ABCDE method is ranking your tasks based on importance of each task. All the tasks ranked A are of utmost importance followed by B, C, D and E, which can be eliminated wherever possible. Begin with tasks ranked A, as they are crucial to meet the objective for the day.
▪ Eat the frog technique is based on a Mark Twain’s famous quote. In this technique, you are asked to deal with the biggest and the most complex task first. Allot time for the task of highest purpose first, and rest of the day can be divided to get the remaining work done.
▪ Eisenhower decision matrix is yet another technique based on a quote from a famous personality. This method asks you to divide your tasks into four quadrants based on importance and urgency. Concentrate on finishing the tasks that fall into both urgent and important quadrant first. Next priority is for important but not urgent tasks, followed by urgent but not important tasks and you can possibly delete or postpone tasks that are not important or urgent.
● It is also important to break bigger tasks into smaller ones so work doesn’t overwhelm you.
● One should be realistic while organizing your work for the day. Having unrealistic expectations will only add stress to your day, impacting your productivity. Set realistic goals and work through them.
● However effective your planning is, if deadlines are not met, there will be a price to pay. So focus on deadlines while sketching out your task plan.
● Use your calendar to plan out your schedule and share it with your team members to keep everyone updated.
● While it is important to stick to the outlined plan, there will be unexpected changes that require realigning of tasks and priorities. Learn to be flexible and adjust to changes.
● Refrain from indulging in unnecessary conversations or social media while working. Once you get the job at-hand done, you can take a well-deserved coffee break!
Prioritizing tasks is easier said than done and is a practice that you master over time and with patience. Use these tips to effectively organize your to-do list and maximize your productivity.