Tips to Help You Prioritise
Everyone, at some point, feels overburdened. You might have an academic deadline that has been brought forward or a research paper that is still not finished, despite hours of research and writing. Life and academic can be overwhelming. The most organised and well planned out tasks can change in the blink of an eye. However, it is essential to add clarity to your thought process and manage your upcoming deadlines, so you can rationalise what you need to do. When was the last time that you sat and thought about an activity that you may have to postpone? The ability to prioritise your workload is much more manageable than you’d think.
So here are RESEARCHER’s top tips to help you prioritise better;
1. Create a list of all your tasks.
Pull together everything you could possibly consider getting done between now and your deadline. At this stage it really doesn’t matter about the order of the tasks, it just matters about creating a definitive list of what needs doing, and what can be achieved before the coming deadline.
2. Identify urgency.
The next step is to identify any of the tasks that need immediate attention. You may need to hand in some work or complete a task by the end of the day or other tasks may rely on its completion. Either way, go through each of the listed tasks and identify which are urgent, important and can be done later. Creating this distinction is key, but don’t forget the lesser tasks.
3. Assess value.
Next, look at your urgent work and identify which job carries the most importance. You need to be able to assess the value of each task. One way of doing this is to consider the ramifications if the task isn’t completed. You should recognize exactly which types of tasks have top priority over the others. Normally, the more people involved or impacted, the higher the value.
4. Order tasks by length and effort.
If you have tasks that seem to tie for priority standing, productivity experts suggest the tactic of starting the lengthier task first. By doing it this way round and picking the task that requires the most effort to complete, you are likely to feel less daunted by your workload and will feel a greater sense of accomplishment when the lengthier task has been completed.
5. Be flexible and adaptable.
Uncertainty and change are a given. Know that your priorities will change frequently and when you least expect them to. But stay focused on the tasks you’re committed to completing. and if you follow the plan that you have made thus far, you will have sufficient time to get everything done.
6. Know when to cut.
Whilst clearly undesirable, it’s often the case that you just won’t be able to get everything done. After you prioritize your tasks and look at your estimates, if you really don’t have the time, cut the remaining tasks from your list that aren’t vital. You should focus on your priorities and work hard to achieve everything you can within the time frame.
These are just a few of our top tips to consider when prioritising your workflow. By prioritising your work early, you will complete your goals.
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