Productivity tip – Prioritize your tasks

The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.

Stephen Covey

Frequently at work and in our personal lives, we are posed with situations where everything jumps up to number one priority. In such situations I find that the following steps really help with prioritizing the tasks and getting them done.

1. List everything that needs to be done that day – Just listing the tasks that need to be done really gives a clear idea with what needs to be done.
2. Use the Eisenhower Matrix – The eisenhower box really helps in prioritizing your tasks.

So if it is Urgent and Important – Do it now, if not urgent but important – decide a time and schedule it, and so on.

3. If multiple things fall into the urgent and important category , then it will be important to find which one is relatively more urgent and get to those first.

4. Focus on one thing at a time – Multitasking is a myth. Just decide which one to do and only focus on the one thing at a time.

Life throws things to do at us all the time that jump right up to the top of the list. Sometimes, something’s got to give. Make the choice of letting go of things that is not aligning with your goals and go full tilt on things are matter the most to you.