PRIORITIZING MADE EASY
Prioritizing is simply the act of arranging things you need to attend to in order of their relative importance. It sounds simple yet to many of us it's not that easy.
We have many varying tasks all of different importance. There are two major ways to approach prioritizing, using a system that works best for each of us. We can either tackle the bigger more involved items on our list first, giving them the time they need and then getting them out of the way. Or, we can get all the little less important things taken care of quickly, so we can concentrate on the bigger more time consuming tasks without distraction. There is no right or wrong way.
Here are a few steps that will hopefully make prioritizing easier for you.
First thing you need to do is make a list of the things you want to accomplish today. They do not have to be in any order, just jot down a simple to do list.
Now its time to figure out the order of importance for each task. The top of the list would be things that must be accomplished today down to if necessary, what can be left for tomorrow.
It's important to set goals as to what you can realistically expect of yourself by not stretching yourself too thin. Give yourself adequate time to get things done avoiding stressing yourself out. This will help you avoid disappointment later in your day.
To be successful in this you must remember there are exceptions to every rule, even your priority list. You never know what might happen during your day that could interfere with your list. Adjustments may need to be made. Knowing this will keep you from stressing out when or if something does come up.
One last tip is to set time limits. Its easy to get so involved in a task where the time can get away from you. Before you know it there isn't sufficient time left for other tasks on your list. Try to recognize when you find yourself doing this and make the changes you need to get you back on track.
You can make your lists in whatever way works best for you. Top your list with the task you want to accomplish first and work your way down from there. This way, if time gets away from you, the less important tasks can wait until tomorrow.
You can make your lists in many ways. List the tasks themselves in order of importance. Use a star system marking the most important this way, or use a time sheet dedicating a block of time to each task keeping you moving along. No matter what method you chose always remember that its not written in stone and to be flexible to accommodate unforeseen events that pop up.
This is where you might have to go back to your list and decide what can wait until tomorrow and what is a must for today. If you have it all written out before you, you wont forget anything and you will find you are less stressed.
Now a days, it's common for us to have busy lives and crazy schedules but if you learn to prioritize productively anything is feasible.