photo by eaters-collective
How to prioritise
Gemma Gosden
19 May 2017
Following on from our recent post on how to get started on a mammoth task we got to thinking about how we prioritise all of those individual tasks once you have brokwn them down into manageable items.
How do I know what to prioritise?
At this point in my career, prioritising is just a thing that I do.
It’s like secod nature so actually thinking about how to prioritise was strange at first, it’s like thinking about how you tie your shoe laces. You just do it right?
The point is once you get to know how its done it becomes something you do without having to think about it.
Where to start?
Start by identifying all the items that need to go on your to do list.
What do you actually have to do?
If you like writing lists this will be an easy place to start, for others not so much.
Try to go through each task and write down what you need to do to from start to finish.
Keep it simple at this point.
Next go through each item on yor list and think about how important each one is and if there’s ay scope for delegation.
The idea isn’t to get you out of doing the job, it’s to see if the job can be completed faster and more efficiently.
Then think about:
- Are there deadlines attached to any of them?
- Which item(s) are constantly at the back of your mind and why?
- Which one(s) do you least want to do and why?
These items need to be done asap.
You might not realise it but having these things constantly at the back of your mind will stress you out.
The things you least want to do will be the things that take you out of your comfort zone. Try to just get them over and done with.
To do list with priorities
Rearrange your to do list in order of priorities. You might even want to number each item here for good measure.
For example, item 1 = most important….
Finally
once you have your list of priorities stick to it but be flexibe enough to be able to change things or move things around if you decide something elase was more important after all.
Get the job done and use our handy infographic to help.
Remember
Being able to prioritise is an attractive skill employers look for, especially if you can to do it under pressure.
Don’t forget to add to your CV!
GDG E-book, Life after Lessons available now!
Other posts you might be interested in:
