Techniques for Prioritizing Work Tasks and Time Management

In Part 1, we discussed the definition of what a priority is and why determining priorities is vital to time management.

In Part 2, we looked at the benefits of determining your priorities.

In Part 3, I shared the method for how to set priorities in your personal life.

Now, let’s cover:

Techniques for Prioritizing Work Tasks and Time Management

To assist you in prioritizing situationally when you have a plethora of requests, demands and questions coming at you seemingly simultaneously, ask yourself the following questions:

*What do you want to achieve by the end of this week? (or this month, this quarter, etc.)

*Which steps, tasks or actions will allow you to reach that accomplishment?

*Do these steps, tasks or actions need to be “checked off” in a certain order? Why or why not?

*When will you work on these steps, tasks or actions to reach that accomplishment?

*What are some occurrences or situations that are more important than your desired accomplishment(s), and you’re willing to devote time to them this week, which will possibly delay your accomplishment?

*What are some occurrences or situations that could crop up and are not more important than what you want to accomplish, so you’re not willing to devote time to them this week, which would delay your accomplishment? Instead, you’re willing to protect your time against these?

*How did you identify what is less important and more important?

The above process is the technique for prioritizing work tasks and time management. You can use these priority determination and prioritization implementation techniques to reach your professional objectives as well as any other goals in your life. When you can define what your accomplishments for the week or month or quarter should be, as well as what you will and will not put your time toward, plus figure out what caveats you’re willing to adjust for and why, then that means you comprehend the techniques for prioritizing work tasks. By applying these techniques to your professional life (and personal life), you’ll be able accomplish more in the most efficient and effective ways possible.

For more techniques for prioritizing work tasks and time management, check out The Inefficiency Assassin: Time Management Tactics for Working Smarter, Not Longer.