It’s a familiar feeling to most: being overwhelmed at work. There are competing obligations coming from multiple sources within the company, and everything seems urgent.
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For entry-level employees with micromanaging supervisors, the prioritization of those tasks may be done for them, but most people strive for a more meaningful and independent career. This means that you need to learn to do your own prioritization.
In an article for LiquidPlanner, Tatyana Sussex offers some basic tips and strategies for effective prioritization that anyone can follow.
Collect a List of All Your Tasks
Take an inventory of what work needs to be completed. Be as inclusive as possible, even if it doesn’t seem particularly important. Those items will shake out later.
Identify Urgent vs. Important
What items need to be completed as soon as possible (i.e., by the end of the day or within a few hours) to avoid major consequences? These should be top of the list.
Assess Value
After the urgent items have been addressed, look at the important items. What has the most value to your organization? You wouldn’t be doing it at all if it wasn’t somewhat important, but some clients are higher-priority than others, some risks are greater than others, and some opportunities hold greater potential than others.
Order Tasks by Estimated Effort
It’s not always possible to rank one task over the other if they are of comparable value and import. When you have a tie, put the easier tasks first. Accomplishing even small goals can be a motivator and help you achieve more labor-intensive goals.
Be Flexible
There’s no such thing as a perfect plan in the real world. Situations and priorities change. It’s important to have a list of priorities, but don’t let it hold you hostage in the face of new developments in a dynamic workplace.
Know When to Cut
Be cognizant of the fact that you may not be able to accomplish everything on your list. We alluded to this in the first step above—“Collect a List of All Your Tasks.” Your list is not static. New items will come up regularly. Some low-priority items may simply need to be discarded.
Having seemingly endless amounts of work can seem like good job security—as long as you get the work done. Even when outstanding tasks seem insurmountable, assigning priorities to those tasks can help out a great deal. The ability to effectively prioritize not only makes the most out of an employee’s time but also cuts down on stress.