How to prioritize important tasks amidst a plethora of urgent but unimportant tasks....

 

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How to prioritize important tasks amidst a plethora of urgent but unimportant tasks.....

With a long list of ‘To Do’ stuff right in front of you, you might get anxious as to how to complete all of them. Here is what you need to do:

1) Find out the ‘Important Tasks’ and schedule them. Ensure you give yourself more time than you think you will need to finish those. That way, if you complete those tasks before time, you will still have some time in hand. Don’t get distracted when you are working on those. When you are on vacation, you do turn on the automatic message. Similarly, when you are working on an important task, at least for 2 hours or so, turn on the automatic message and let people know that you are working on a priority. Let them know that only in case of emergency, they can reach out to you in a designated way.

2) Now, an ‘Important Task’ may be vast. When you take that up, it might be overwhelming for you. So, break them into little tasks, focusing on the most important first. That way you will be able to achieve one tiny goal at a time and eventually reach the final goal. Sometimes crossing off one tiny item on a to do check list is also very satisfying.

3) Manage your feelings of anxiety. When you are focusing on an important project, and suddenly you receive an email from a colleague regarding another task to be delivered urgently, don’t panic. Take a deep breath. Think about a better way to handle that and get in touch with that colleague to check if that task is indeed ‘very urgent’?

4) Ensure you do not spend a lot of time on unimportant stuff. For example, if a web page has to be made simple, inform the team at the beginning of the project itself that they don’t have to spend a lot of time on elaborate designing.

5) When it comes to urgent but unimportant tasks, follow three simple rules. Automation, Standardization and Elimination. This will help you a lot in time management.

6) Pay attention to the big picture. Sometimes you end up putting a lot of time and effort in tasks which might not play any major role in the final project. Do study the details and do not waste your time on such tasks.

Sources: https://www.case.org/resources/focus-importance-instead-urgency

https://hbr.org/2018/07/how-to-focus-on-whats-important-not-just-whats-urgent?utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=hbr&utm_source=facebook&tpcc=orgsocial_edit&fbclid=IwAR2ZwH22-scbwqGrn5bL184c4_e3xBmwz8bLvIA6fzPvAg-pVCukPCABNjk