Prioritizing Your Tasks, It Can Be Learned!

Last updated by Katie M.

My desk is full of post-its, I get overwhelmed, and I’m often right on schedule! I know that prioritizing is the key to being organized at work, but how do you do that when you feel that all your tasks are important? There are different ways to do this, but the most important thing to remember is that you can learn to prioritize. Here’s how!

Prioritizing Your Tasks, It Can Be Learned!
Contents: 

How to prioritize when everything is important?

Yes, it’s hard to tell ourselves that one task takes priority over another when everything seems important to us! The key to understanding what needs to be done urgently is to take a step back so as not to feel overwhelmed and on your way to a burn-out. To have this objective view, you need to:

  • be observant;
  • take stock of the situation;
  • clarify;
  • commit.

To achieve this and to learn to prioritize your tasks, you need to force yourself to slow down, just like in the Kaizen method 🧘‍♀️. This time allows us to put things into perspective and see what’s urgent from another angle.

Urgency and importance

When we’re in a constant state of urgency, we can make more mistakes, and it becomes an inefficient rush. Learning to balance and be methodical will become our best allies when it comes to prioritizing our tasks. For this, we should know that there are 4 essential types of tasks according to the Eisenhower matrix:

  • Urgent 🔥
  • Important ⚠️
  • Not urgent ➡️
  • Not important ⏸️

➜ This matrix allows us to classify the tasks to be able to prioritize them better. The second step is of course to understand each type of task.

>>> Discover the 4 main causes of unhappiness at work

Methods of prioritizing tasks at work

When we know how to prioritize tasks, we know how to assess the urgency of tasks, but that’s not all. The distribution of our time, the amount of time it takes to do something, and flexibility are no longer a secret for us 🤓. So here are the methods that teach us how to do all this.

1. The “to-do list”

Yes, the famous to-do list! To understand what we have to do, you need to write it all down, including the little things that seem trivial 🤔. And you can also note your personal tasks. Everything can be grouped together!

➜ For example, we may have to pick up a parcel at the post office, which is right next to our next client meeting!

Once you’ve written everything down, prioritization is usually done according to urgency, importance, length of time, and the consequences of each task.

2. Identify your goals clearly

If we need to organize our tasks, it’s to achieve a longer-term goal. It’s therefore important to identify them to always keep them in mind 🔍. As such, it will be easier for us to know what needs to be done as a priority, what is urgent or important.

3. Break down your goals

Once we’ve established our main objectives, we’ll have to break them down into sub-categories to achieve our final goal. This will allow us to break them down annually, monthly, and even weekly. From there, we can plan deadlines 📅.

4. Organize tasks in terms of time

This is when we know whether a task is urgent, i.e., a priority or not. As we have to fix deadlines, we can set precise times. The MIT method (Most Important Tasks) gives us the possibility to set 3 tasks that must be completed before the end of the day ✅.

➜ To choose them, we need to ask ourselves which ones will have the greatest impact on the final goal? What can we finish during the day?

5. Avoid competing priorities

To avoid getting caught up writing an unexpected email or with various other distractions, it’s important to respect the time limit. It’s important to take regular breaks to be efficient. By taking them into account, we will be less distracted. Just as, we must also think about parallel priorities, such as dealing with emails. By dedicating time to them every day, we can integrate them smoothly into our schedule.

6. Know your rhythm

When you look at your “to-do” list and schedule, it’s easy to be overwhelmed with stress at work. To avoid this happening, it’s important to trust yourself 🤗. Knowing yourself well and having an idea of how long it takes to do a task is what makes it happen. For this, it’s necessary to take your rhythm into account, as well as breaks.

7. Constantly re-evaluate

The key to continuous improvement and knowing how to prioritize is to systematically take a step back. By doing this, we can control the urgency of tasks, including new ones that are added on top.

And to have the time to put these methods in place, why not make the most of the summer in the office to do this? Just saying 😄!

Editor’s note: prioritize for less stress

When you don’t know how to prioritize, you want to do everything right away, and then stress sets in. Especially since by wanting to be everywhere, you end up nowhere… Prioritizing, therefore, allows you to work calmly and efficiently, but it’s not always easy, especially if you have an anxious temperament or if you suffer from good pupil syndrome! We advise you to seek help from a coach in order to better manage your emotions and your professional life.

🤗 Understanding yourself, accepting yourself, being happy... It’s here and now!
#BornToBeMe

Be sure to check out these articles too;

Article presented by
Katie, M.

"🌻 Discover the world through my eyes."

Read our latest articles here:

How To Have An Orgasm? 6 Tips To Let Go And Enjoy!

How many times have I heard my friends say they couldn't reach orgasm during sex? We all deserve to experience pure pleasure when we're intimate. Personally, when I have sex, I know I’m going to orgasm. Why? Because there are a few key secrets to guarantee pleasure every time. Just like I shared them with my friends, I’m sharing them with you now—let’s dive in! [Yes, this article is specially for people with a vulva!]

Ghosting: When Silence Becomes A Brutal Breakup

One message, then two, then three… but still no response. Ghosting is a cruel breakup method that leaves you completely confused. Suddenly, you have no way to reach someone with whom everything seemed fine just moments ago. Being ghosted is incredibly difficult to handle, which is why it's important to talk about it. I’ll explain what’s behind this behavior and how to heal from it—because even though it’s extremely painful in the moment, you can move past it.

Shadow Work: How To Embrace Your Dark Side?

We all have a shadow side within us, myself included. Just like villains in movies, there are darker aspects of our personality that we prefer to hide from others. However, it’s essential to embrace these shadow parts because, as psychiatrist Carl Jung famously said, "There is no light without shadow." Let’s explore how acknowledging our "dark" side can lead to better psychological balance.

I Want My Parents To Be Proud Of Me—Why?

I'm over 30 years old, and I still feel happy when I share a success with my father. I know it brings me joy, especially since my mother is no longer with us. However, I've never really questioned it: why do I need to feel that my father is proud of me? More broadly, why do we seek our parents' approval? Wanting to make our parents happy is one thing, but it's important to reflect on this more deeply—especially if their approval plays a significant role in our lives.

The 10 Weak Points Of A Narcissist Revealed

Each one of us has our own weaknesses that hold us back in life; be it at work or in relationships. However, on a more positive note, most of us have the will to work on them and transform them. That being said, once narcissists are brought into the picture, the idea that they want to work on their weaknesses doesn’t exactly seem feasible. For a deeper understanding of these narcissists and more insights into the workings of their minds, discover their weak spots and which pointers they struggle with on a daily basis, yet aren't willing to admit or work on 👎.

10 Weird Things Narcissists Do Sexually - Romance Is Dead

As with many things in life, narcissists also have unhealthy relationships with sex and treat it as nothing more than a self-gratifying activity. After all, manipulation, control, and emotional abuse are their so-called trusty weapons that they hide behind in most circumstances, so why wouldn’t they call on them in the bedroom too? The bottom line is people with this personality disorder are used to getting what they want and will only ever put themselves and their pleasure first, which doesn’t bode well for a healthy sex life. 🙈 Discover the weird things narcissists do in the bedroom and what you should do if you are involved with one.

Who Do Narcissists Target?

If reading up on narcissists terrifies you, you probably already realize how dangerous their toxic personalities can be. Although, that being said, I’m probably going to add to the list of reasons as to why you should be ultra wary of these abusers, by revealing who they prey on. One thing that can be said about narcissists is that they certainly aren’t predictable people! 😱 Plus, spoiler alert, they don’t necessarily always choose to emotionally abuse seemingly weak people, no, in fact, they often choose bigger fish to fry because they love a challenge. Discover the types of personalities they hone in on and why.

Why Do I Get Upset When Someone Doesn't Text Back?

Friday night rolls around and after a hard week you were expecting to have a drink with a girlfriend, but she seems to have left you hanging on read... To make matters worse (and the humiliation?) you even saw the little typing sign appear, yet you never received a reply. Well, if that’s the case, obviously you or your "how about a drink tonight?" didn’t deserve an answer. Let’s take a look at why some people don't reply to messages, and why when someone doesn't reply to your text, this makes us feel so bad.

Are Narcissists Insecure?

There is no denying that narcissistic personalities display some deeply worrying and disturbing traits, but what if these devious traits were just a means of protection? What if they were in fact a complete facade, fabricated to keep people away, in the hope of hiding their deepest darkest insecurities? 😱 After all, everyone has weak spots, even the most confident and put together of people, so why wouldn’t a narcissist deal with the same niggling doubts as everyone else? It's time we got to the bottom of this and discovered why these folks are so insecure.

How To Heal From The Pain Of Being Rejected

Whether it’s the breakdown of a relationship, a family dispute, or even being fired dismissal... We have all experienced the feeling of being rejected, excluded, or left out. Whilst some people manage to bounce back quite quickly, others suffer from it in a persistent way. As for me, I understood how to move on, because I was able to recognize my rejection wound. So, how can we overcome the fear of rejection and move on from it?



Wengood's favorite tunes 🎵

Wengood's playlist

wengood

  1. Only LoveBen Howard
    4:08
  2. Invalid date
  3. Fix YouColdplay
    4:55
  4. Beautiful DayU2
    4:08
  5. Thinking out LoudEd Sheeran
    4:41
  6. White FlagDido
    4:00
  7. Lay Me DownSam Smith
    4:13
  8. Nine Million BicyclesKatie Melua
    3:17
  9. Put Your Records OnCorinne Bailey Rae
    3:35
  10. Summertime SadnessLana Del Rey
    4:24
  11. Imagine - Remastered 2010John Lennon
    3:07
  12. Shake It OutFlorence + The Machine
    4:37
  13. Space Oddity - Love You Til Tuesday versionDavid Bowie
    3:46
  14. What A Wonderful WorldLouis Armstrong
    2:17
  15. With Or Without YouU2
    4:56
  16. HelloAdele
    4:55
  17. Don't Stop Me NowQueen
    3:29
  18. Skinny LoveBirdy
    3:21
  19. WingsBirdy
    4:12
  20. Californian SoilLondon Grammar
    3:41

How to detect a narcissist

How to detect a narcissist

How to soothe an anxiety attack

How to soothe an anxiety attack