Learn to prioritize your tasks in 4 steps

Do you ever feel overwhelmed by your long list of tasks?

Whether it's at work or in your personal life, prioritizing tasks can help:

1. plan your time

2. focus your attention

3. increase productivity

4. meet all deadlines

Start by consolidating all your tasks into one list. This step allows to you to see all your tasks in one location before sorting and organizing your tasks (next step!).

Here are some tools to get started!

Online Tools

• Google Keep

• Microsoft OneNote

• ClickUp

Offline Tools

• Notebook

• Sticky Notes

• Day Planner or agenda

Use the Eisenhower Matrix to sort tasks by urgency and importance. Once you identify where the tasks fit in the matrix, start working on the recommended action for each quadrant.

• Do urgent and important tasks

• Schedule not urgent but important tasks

• Delegate urgent but not important tasks

• Eliminate not urgent and not important tasks

Image inspired by Todoist

Sometimes tasks can be too broad and vague. Breaking down tasks into smaller, manageable ones can make it easier to achieve.

Make your tasks more:

1. Specific

2. Measurable

3. Time-bound

Pick The Smaller Tasks That Support The Broader Task

Task: Apply for a Masters Program

Smaller Task 1: Research top 5 universities with program of interest by April 15

Smaller Task 2: Gather all supporting documents by May 15

Smaller Task 3: Complete application submissions for top 3 universities by June 1

Now that you have sorted and broken down your master task list, create a daily list.

1. Create your daily task list at the end of the day or the morning

2. Organize tasks in order of priority with most important task at the top

3. Only move to the next task only you have completed a task (avoid multitasking!)

4. Add remaining tasks to tomorrow's task list

If you are ready to start prioritizing your tasks and never missing a deadline, here is your cheat sheet to get started!