Learn how to accomplish tasks and how to prioritize work in an effective way. Prioritize work and get the job done, with a feeling of accomplishment and peace of mind.
1. List down all the tasks
As a first step to prioritizing, it’s vital for you to start listing all the tasks you want to do and have a bigger picture of your workload for your whole day or week.
On this list we recommend you to list all the daily tasks you want or need to complete. In this starting point its ok to list down all the tasks with no particular order because you just want to get them written down on paper and make a massive to- do list, where you can sum up all the tasks that need to be done.
2. Establish due dates
Remember that feeling we were talking about at the beginning? When you feel like you are putting out fires, and have lots of work delayed? In this step you will start to help yourself organize your times. With the same list, now beside each item written on the list, write down due dates. Remember not to establish due dates on when you expect or want to finish something but on when you are required to hand in the completed work. With these dates you are now able to rank these tasks in order of priority.
3. Find independent and dependent tasks
When you have settled your tasks by due date and you have seen the new ranking of tasks your task now is to separate these tasks into independent or dependent tasks. This way you are able to see which tasks can be worked without impacting other peoples to do lists. For example, if the marketing department is waiting on some designs, you might want to prioritize those designs and move that task up the list, even if the due date is a little further. This way you don’t become a road blocker to other teams.
4. Break large tasks into smaller and single tasks
Once you have done steps 1-3 you are able to see many tasks written and ordered by priority but some tasks can be very large projects that need to be broken down into smaller components for you to start working one step at a time.
Separate large tasks or projects into milestones, where each milestone can be a specific task and be handled in an orderly manner. As you are able to assess each small task one by one, you are able to prepare your time an execute in an orderly manner.
5. De-clutter the list
Yes, you read right. After you have a clear vision and understanding of all tasks, big and small, it’s time to clean out this list from small tasks that require a small amount of time and may be repeated throughout your work week, month, etc. Make sure you check out these little things so you can have extra time to concentrate on the most important task.
6. Rearrange and reassess
Remember this list cannot be perfect or permanent. You must be open to change priorities and be able to constantly be flexible, especially in a busy work environment. By knowing that your list can change and being flexible about this you will always be able to be on your top organization game!
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