How to set Priorities

Vocabulary.

When everything you have to do seems important, figuring out where to begin can be difficult.

Here are some suggestions to help you evaluate and prioritize your work.

List your tasks.

Before you prioritize your work, make a list of your tasks for the day or week.

This lets you see what you need to do and determine your priorities.

And it helps you keep track of your work.

Determine their urgency.

Urgent tasks are tasks that must be done soon or even immediately.

If something is due by the end of the day, it is likely to be urgent.

But if you have a week to finish it, it will be a lower priority.

When a priority is urgent, it should be handled as soon as possible.

When you need to work on several important tests, using a to do list can make you feel less overwhelmed.

If you do not list what you need to do, you may forget an important task or fail to prioritize effectively.

After you have listed the work you need to do, you can determine whether it is a high priority.

The closer the deadline gets, the more urgent a project becomes.

If you do not list your tasks, you might forget something important. 

When a priority is urgent, it should be handled as soon as possible.

Determine their importance.

Important tasks are valuable activities that will greatly influence your future.

You should schedule time for important tasks every day, especially when you feel most productive.

Important tasks usually take a longer time to complete an urgent tasks.

Failing to Complete important tasks could prevent you from reaching your long term goals.

Estimate time needed.

Estimate how long it will take to complete each task.

Splitting up a large assignment into smaller tasks can make it easier to estimate.

If you estimate that something will take a long time to complete, you should start it soon.

Otherwise you may not have enough time.

He had estimated that this project would take more than a month to finish. So he started two months before the deadline.

If you estimate that something will take a long time to Complete, you should start it soon.

Mismanaging priorities

Vocabulary. 

To underestimate.

To underestimate something means to think it is smaller or less important than it actually is.

If you underestimate the task, you think it is easier than it actually is.

When people underestimate the difficulty of the project, they may schedule less time for it.

To overestimate.

To overestimate something means to think it is bigger or more important than it actually is.

If you overestimate the importance of the task, you assume the task is more important than it actually is.

To ignore.

If you ignore something, you pretend that it doesn't exist.

To focus on your work, you should ignore distractions such as social media and text messages.

When people underestimate the difficulty of a project, they may schedule less time for it.

So she had underestimated the amount of time needed for this project. So it took her longer than expected to finish it.

To delay.

To delay means to put off something until a later time.

An employee may delay doing certain tasks because they do not think that they are urgent.

Important tasks shouldn't be delayed too much or else you may fall behind schedule.

To rush.

To rush means to do something in a hurry without thinking about it carefully.

Employees may rush through their work when they are behind schedule.

Rushing through assignments may hurt the quality of your work.

If a meeting has been delayed. It has been postponed to a later date.

I had to delay this phone call in order to finish my financial report on time.

The assignment was poorly written because it had been done in a rush.

Describing goals

Vocabulary.

Specific.

To be specific means to be precise and clear.

A specific goal, clearly defined what you want to accomplish.

If something is specific, it is not general or vague.

Achievable.

If something is achievable, it can be reached or accomplished.

Four goals to be achievable. You need to have the resources to complete it.

What could happen if you said on achievable goals, employees may become demotivated, your goals will be accomplished. Employees will work hard.

The instructions he received weren't specific, so he didn't know what to do first.

Our manager believed these goals were achievable, but we failed to reach any of them.

If the goal is specific, it has a clearly defined objective.

Quantitative.

If something is quantitative, it can be measured by objective standards or metrics.

A quantitative goal may be measured by statistics data or percentages.

Qualitative.

A qualitative goal is measured objectively and indirectly.

Improving customer satisfaction is an example of a qualitative goal.

You can turn a qualitative goal into a quantitative goal by using metrics such as data or percentages.

To be precise and clear. To be specific means to be precise and clear.

Related actions

Vocabulary.

To allocate.

To allocate means to divide and distribute something like time or money.

When you allocate a budget, you distribute it across different projects or activities.

To evaluate.

To evaluate means to assess the value of something.

 A to do list is a great tool to evaluate what you need to do and manage your priorities.

Evaluating your priorities can help you implement a time line to achieve your goals.

Do annual budget indicates how funds will be allocated to different departments.

You can evaluate your time management skills by determining how effectively you divide your time. Between different activities.

When you allocate a budget, you distribute it across different projects or activities.

To extend.

To extend something means to make it longer.

 If an employee can't reach a deadline, they may ask the manager to extend it.

To update.

When you update something, you change it to include recent Information.

Once a task has been completed, update your to do list by crossing the task out.

A to do list that is not regularly updated is not effective for time management.

After examining his team's schedule, he decided to extend the deadline for one week.

To keep track of the progress of a project, you need to regularly update the project schedule.

Setting priorities

Dialogue.

It looks like it's going to be another late night for me.

Why? 

Well, it's already six o'clock and I'm only halfway through writing this financial report. I think it's going to take me another three hours to finish it. 

I finished my part an hour ago.

She's only halfway to writing the report.

Wow really. I thought we were allocated a similar amount of work. What is your secret? Eight cups of coffee a day

Be serious. How did you finish the report so fast?

I just prioritized my workload.

Well, when I found out that the report had to be finished today, I made it my top priority. 

Originally I had planned to make some calls, but I rescheduled them to Friday because they weren't urgent. 

That's a good idea. I had to two clients calls today that took up an hour. I could have spent more time on the report if I did not have to make them.

Exactly they weren't a high priority.

That's good. I have two client calls today. Already secondly, I scheduled the most important tasks in the morning because it's usually the most quiet time in the office. Also it's when I'm most productive interesting when the office very distressed. Is the most important. It's pretty simple. At the end of every day I spend 10 minutes writing down all of the tasks that I need to Complete the then I go through. You are so efficient. Max, thanks for all the great tips. Don't mention it. Don't worry about really you're going to help me finish it. You order in some pizza for us to eat while we finish.