Last Updated on September 13, 2023
Are you overwhelmed or overworked by the number of tasks on your to-do list? Are you constantly overwhelmed by emails and notifications from your co-workers, clients, and boss? You’re not alone. It’s estimated that 80% of people working in corporate America believe that they’re doing too much work for too little pay. In fact, many people describe their daily life as being like a hamster running on its wheel with no end in sight. The good news is there are steps you can take to prioritize tasks and manage your workload effectively − even if it means trimming down that overflowing inbox!
Create a to-do list to take control from being overworked
The first step in prioritizing your tasks is to create a comprehensive list of everything you need to do, whether important or not as much. The key here is not only listing the priorities on your plate but also including any smaller tasks that might help you come closer to completing them (for example, “look up how much it costs for shipping my package”). Once you have all of these priorities neatly listed, decide which ones are more important. Write these at the top of the page and mark them with an asterisk. This will serve as an easy way for others around you who may be helping with this task-management exercise (like co-workers) to spot the priorities. Later, you can look over your lists together, checking what has been accomplished.
Prioritize each item based on its importance relative to other items on the list
To do this effectively requires some self-reflection about what really matters in terms of work responsibilities versus personal commitments/hobbies outside work life. However, once this has been achieved, better decision making processes will follow. No one needs to be overwhelmed by unnecessary details.
Organize the list
Organize the list. The first step to prioritizing is to list your tasks. This can be done in any number of ways:
- Use a planner, such as an Erin Condren Life Planner or some other kind of paper planner
- Use an app on your phone, like Wunderlist or Todoist that lets you organize lists within the application itself (iTunes and Google Play Stores have plenty of these types of applications)
- Create a spreadsheet in Excel, Numbers, or Google Sheets
- Write everything down on a whiteboard or chalkboard wall – this method is great if you’re looking for something fun, attractive, and tactile.
A list will help you to be organized and focus on what you need to do to prevent being overworked
A to-do list is a way of organizing your tasks. Such a list will help you prioritize what needs to be done, and thereafter to focus on the tasks. If you’re someone who doesn’t have time to do everything, make sure that the most important tasks are completed first. For example, if there’s a meeting that your boss wants to attend more than anything else, make sure that this happens before any other task is undertaken.
Also, if there’s a deadline for a project or event, this should be included on your list. There will then be no confusion about deadlines, or how much time remains before completion (or submission). Then add any other tasks that need completing after those two tasks have been accomplished.
Conclusion
If you’re looking for a way of organizing your to-do list and prioritizing tasks, this is the guide for you! I hope that this has helped shed some light on how prioritizing works, and has given you some ideas on how to set this up for yourself. Remember that there are many different types of prioritization systems out there, so don’t feel restricted by what we’ve covered here today. Good luck with your work!
