You have a long list of tasks to complete. How can you prioritize them effectively?

I assess my current situation Before diving into my task list. I consider factors such as deadlines, importance, and urgency of each task. Understanding the context in which I am operating will help me make informed decisions about how to prioritize my tasks.

When you have a long list of tasks to complete, it can be difficult to know where to start and can be overwhelming at times and we don't start at all. The 1st step is to attribute a value to each task. You can do this by using a tool like the Eisenhower Matrix which helps separate important / not important and urgent / not urgent tasks. The reason we do this, is that not all tasks have the same value and identifying that allows us to focus more on tasks that help us in our careers and move closer to our purpose. Other tools like doing the most difficult/involved task will help create mental space for you to focus on more tasks later. Ask yourself, if I was only to complete one task today, (most important task - MIT) what would it be?

Clarity of Goals: Define your objectives and understand what success looks like for each task. Deadlines and Expectations: Knowing time constraints and expectations helps you prioritize effectively. Resource Allocation: Assessing available time and resources ensures efficient planning and execution. Progress Measurement: Define metrics for success and track progress to stay on course. Risk Awareness: Identifying risks and opportunities allows for proactive management. Assessing your situation sets the foundation for efficient task management, ensuring you tackle the right tasks at the right time.

Prioritization is a function of time available into the impact of the task on hand. Therefore, we may need to prioritize a less impactful task over one of critical importance, if the timeline for the completion of the former is shorter. For eg A cancer patient who needs to be taken by you for chemotherapy versus a child in your care who has fallen down and hurt their knee and is in need of a couple of stitches. The latter will take precedence as it requires immediate attention, even though the former has a long-term impact on life and death. When two tasks have similar criticality and timelines, delegate the one which someone else in your organisation or family has the ability to undertake, albeit to a lesser degree of efficiency.

Prioritize tasks using the ABCDE method: A tasks: High-priority tasks that are both important and urgent. B tasks: Tasks that are important but not urgent. C tasks: Tasks that are nice to do but not critical. D tasks: Tasks that can be delegated to others. E tasks: Tasks that can be eliminated or postponed. Focus on completing A tasks first, followed by B tasks, and so on.

One effective way to prioritize tasks is to use a prioritization matrix. This tool allows me to evaluate tasks based on their importance and urgency, helping me identify which tasks require immediate attention and which can be tackled later. By categorizing tasks into quadrants based on these criteria, I can create a clear roadmap for prioritizing my work.

Utilising the Eisenhower Matrix will quickly help identify what your true priorities are. Instead of a simple to do list, placing tasks into 4 quadrants will help you identity activities that keep you busy are not helping in furthering your goals forward. They could be dropped or outsourced. For example, certain admin could be delegated or outsourced so that you can focus on the tasks that are important and not urgent. These are essential to reach your goals, like client engagement, networking and nurturing. This matrix will help clarify your priorities and done regularly will prevent overwhelm and a frustrating running around on a hamster wheel energy

Using the Eisenhower Matrix to prioritise your tasks at first is essential. This ties in well with 80/20 rule, whereby its the 20% of activities that will yield 80% results towards your goals. For example if your goal to win new business then focusing on speaking with prospective clients is going to bring more results than if you spent a majority of your time on just researching. While necessary too much time spent researching won't yield the same results.

The Pareto Principle, also known as the 80/20 rule, states that 80% of results come from 20% of efforts. I Apply this principle to my task list by focusing on the tasks that will yield the most significant impact. Identify the most critical functions to my goals and prioritize them accordingly. By concentrating my efforts on high-impact tasks, I can achieve more significant results with less effort.

I see priorities as a living being — capable of evolving, changing, constantly moving, even self correcting. That’s why, in my experience, it is important to always review and adjust priorities. It is not enough to just identify them, or else we lose sight of what’s good and true. Always seek the help of your managers. If you find this particular area challenging, you’ll be surprised to know that they can open doors and lift weights with you. If, on the contrary, we don’t adjust to priorities, we get stuck in an endless freefalling constantly firefighting workday. In this case, “everything” will now technically have become a “priority”. You may, to some degree, have just broken the universe. If everything is a priority, nothing is.

Prioritization is not a one-time task for me; it requires ongoing review and adjustment. I regularly reassess my task list to ensure that my priorities align with my goals and objectives. As new tasks arise or circumstances change, I will always be prepared to shift my focus accordingly. By staying flexible and adaptive, I can ensure that I am always working on the most important tasks at any given time.

Effective communication is essential when prioritizing tasks, especially in a team setting. I communicate my priorities to colleagues, managers, or stakeholders to ensure alignment and collaboration. By sharing my task list and priorities with others, I can avoid misunderstandings, streamline workflow, and ensure everyone is on the same page.

Asses priorities and impact. If you are unsure about priorities, identify [people who can help you identify them. Asses the impact of each task, what happens if it is done, and what happens if it is not done.