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Oftentimes, we have a to-do list that seems almost impossible to get through. Overwhelm can set in and stop you from taking the actions you need to start getting through those tasks.
But the good news is that there are ways to prioritize your work tasks and we’ll share with you some tips on how to do that below.
#1 – Give Each Task A Priority Level
You might have a long list of tasks that need to be completed but not all of them have the same level of importance.
Therefore, giving each task a level of importance will help you to sort them and also get them completed.
You might want to use labels such as:
Do First – These are the most important tasks that you have to get done first.
Schedule – The tasks that are still important but can be done after the ‘Do First’ tasks.
Delegate – The tasks that don’t have to be done by you personally can be delegated to other people.
Ignore – Some tasks you have written down which seemed important but are no longer as important.
You can use these labels for daily tasks but also for longer-term, weekly, monthly, and yearly tasks too. It’s simply a matter of putting things in order and getting the most important ones done first each time.
#2 – Choose 3 Tasks To Get Done Each Day
Either at the end of the previous day or first thing in the morning, you should decide on 3 important tasks that you want to complete that day.
These tasks are the ones where if you do complete them, you can feel proud of yourself because you know that you have been very productive.
3 is a good number because if you set yourself 5-10 tasks, then it can lead to overwhelm and you’re likely to not do those tasks to the best of your abilities. It allows you to focus all your energy on just those 3 things and know that you’re moving in the right direction when you complete them.
#3 – Do The Worst First
Take the worst of those 3 tasks and do it first each day. Don’t even think about it, just decide which one you feel like doing the least and do it first.
By doing this, you can clearly focus on the next 2 tasks and not be dreading doing them.
Whether it’s a phone call you don’t want to make or a boring task that requires not a lot of thinking but will take hours to do.
Do that one task first and then enjoy completing the other tasks for the rest of the day.
#4 – Schedule Non-Negotiable Tasks
In any kind of work, there will be tasks that have to be completed. These are the non-negotiables that need to be done no matter what.
Therefore, it’s a great idea to actually schedule these in, so that you can fully focus on getting them completed. Otherwise, they might be put off and start building up and the pressure of knowing you have to get them done can cause that overwhelm again.
Schedule a block of time for each one in your calendar and don’t put them off. Don’t allow anyone to interrupt you or try and eat into those time periods.
#5 – Keep Tasks Organized
With so many work tasks to do, it can be tricky to keep track of everything that needs completing.
Therefore, keeping all your tasks in one place can really help with that. You can do this offline, by physically writing everything down if you prefer that way of organizing.
Or you can use one of the popular task apps that you can find online. With these apps, you can list all your tasks and drag and drop them onto the days where they need completing. Many of them are completely free to use too.
#6 – Set Realistic Time Frames
There’s nothing worse than setting daily goals and not completing them, even though you’ve worked really hard all day.
One way to eliminate this from happening is to set deadlines that are realistic. Sure, you would love to get dozens of tasks done each day but you have to know how long each task should take you.
If you have too many tasks on your daily list, you won’t complete them all, will rush the ones you do complete, and feel frustrated at the end of the day.
Therefore, set a realistic time for each task, so that you know roughly how many tasks you can get done within your allotted time frame.
