Managing Time: Prioritization

Prioritizing your tasks is perhaps the most important part of keeping your work load manageable. By putting your tasks in order of importance you will reduce the stress of disorganization and leave yourself able to get things done.

Priority Matrix

I wish I could tell you that there was some guy in a long black trench coat and dark sunglasses inside this so called "matrix", ready to prioritize all your stuff according to the oracle, but that's not how this works.

According to Management Sciences for Health, a priority matrix is useful when working in teams. It allows you to weigh the importance of each task against the amount of effort it will take.

To begin using a priority matrix, start brainstorming in your group about the types of issues you're currently having with any pending tasks. Then use our priority matrix to begin plotting the problem, frequency, importance, and finally, the feasibility of the task. Let each person in the group rank each task. A tally of the votes will help you easily prioritize each part.

Paired Comparison Analysis

Paired comparison analysis is best used when the idea or topic of your task is vague. You may use this tool to compare and contrast difficult decisions as well.

Begin by using our analysis worksheet. Start by listing the tasks you are looking to compare and prioritize on the left and top of the columns. Mindtools.com suggests that you use a letter to describe each task. Then, compare each of them in a column and row. Two by two, assign the task a number of importance. You'll be able to clearly see the appropriate order for your priorities.

Priority Planning

Priority planning is a huge help when managing multiple projects. Begin by using our priority planning worksheet. Then, identify your priorities on the sheet. Next, assign each a number for their importance. I would recommend using numbers 1-3, 1 being most important and 3 being the least. Place those numbers in the "I" column.

Once you've given each project a corresponding number of importance, do the same under the "U" column for the urgency of each project. Again, 1 would be your most urgent project, 2 would need to be done but not before 1, and 3 is important but can wait.

Next, multiply the importance number by the urgency number to determine your success factor and enter that into the "S" column. Rank each project according to the success factor in the rank column. If there is a tie between two of the projects, you'll have to choose one over the other.

Fill out the rest of the information regarding the description of each project, the steps in which to take for each project as well as each deadline. This will help you to organize and prioritize for easy reference throughout the completion of these tasks.

There are tons of ways to prioritize the tiny pieces of every project, but using these methods will ensure you're not spending more time trying to figure out how to get it done than doing it.

Join me tomorrow for part 3 of the Time Management series: delegation, where we'll learn easy tips for deciding who to delegate to and how to manage what is delegated.