The Power of Prioritising Your Work

Power 07.

What is meant by Prioritising your Work?

It is the writing down of tasks that need to be accomplished in their order of importance and focusing on completing one task at a time in that same order. This helps you stay organised and cuts out non-essential tasks so you can achieve your goal.

How can I prioritise my work?

Write down a list of tasks you have to do next day. Number the items in order of their real importance. Next day concentrate your effort on priority No. 1 and stay with it until it is complete; then proceed to numbers 2,3, 4, etc. and so on. If you are unable to complete your list in the one day add the items to the next day?s work and re-set your priorities.

What are the advantages of prioritising your work?

Organising and managing your time will enable you to work smarter rather than harder. Prioritising work teaches you to value your time and invest in it rather than just using it up. Prioritising also teaches you to manage yourself better by good planning.

SUMMARY

When you apply your time, interest and energy to make the most of each day by prioritising tasks you will experience more returns on your investment, you will have more time to be creative and you will be at peace with yourself. Ultimately you have the power to set the vital priorities which will mean the difference between failure, survival and success. Only through taking action will you change your life for the better and you will find that attention to detail by prioritising your work will result in excellence and the achievement of your goal.
It has been said that time is on your side from the moment you organise it and the best way to do that is to prioritise your work. Without organised planning and following action you would never reach any of your goals. Many people find it relatively easy to set long and medium term goals (macro goals) but fail to realise that if they are unable to accomplish their day-to-day goals (micro goals) the main goal will never be achieved.

Organising and managing your time will enable you to work smarter rather than harder. Take responsibility for the way you use time and if you get the best value from each minute you can make time serve you rather than you serve time. The most successful planners spend some quiet time at the end of each day planning for the next period. They write out a list of their tasks for the next day and prioritise them. They know if they do not do that, their efforts will be scattered and bring ultimate failure. Put a value on everything you do and tackle the most valuable tasks first. By prioritising your work and giving each task only the time it deserves you can use time to your advantage.

Undefined goals and undefined priorities are two of the biggest factors which sap efficiency and productivity. Setting priorities avoids the weakness of indecision and by writing down the tasks needed to be completed in order of priority indecision, which can be your deadly enemy, can be considerably reduced.

Managing your time finally gets down to the way you manage yourself and the trail ends with the individual. Poor planning is the chief of time wasters so track how you spend your time over a week and identify your time wasters. This will aid you in making a decision to get priorities in order. Another time waster is allowing people to impose their time frames on you. Instead, set a value on your time; if someone is late for an appointment; allow a certain amount of time to wait and no longer. A third time waster is procrastination so set time limits and don?t wait until the last minute to get something done. If there is a particular job that you are not looking forward to tackling, do it immediately and get it out of the way.

Even when you have rid yourself of time wasters, emergencies will erupt and unforeseen events will disturb your plans. Appointments and even decisions will need to be changed. When these things happen it is wise to have an alternative course of action ready. That is all part of planning. Remember, however, to make your schedule realistic and achievable. Don?t try to put too many items on the list and do allow some down time for yourself in your day so you don?t burn yourself out.

The conscious mind focuses effectively on only one thing at a time so to stay well organised, apply the concept of focusing on only one thing at a time to all areas of your life. If you approach every task in an organised, conscientious manner by prioritising the most important tasks the outcome will not be left to chance. It then allows you the freedom to concentrate and focus on the most important tasks whose completion will bring the best results for each day.

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