How to Prioritize Your Tasks and To-Do’s

Tasks + To Do Lists

Managing and prioritizing tasks and to do lists can be challenging. We write these lists sometimes daily and they don’t end. They never seem to be finished and some days grow. They are supposed to help us get done what is important.

That’s why we write them – to help us remember. However, simply writing or capturing the tasks does not ensure that we will know when to get them done or guarantee they will be done at all. In an age of smartphones and smart apps to track our tasks we have to remember they can’t replace our brain.

We must be able to evaluate what is on our list to determine what to do first. That evaluation and prioritization must be done each day. Each day there are new tasks to add to the list and new information coming in that may change the priority of a task.

Let’s talk about how to prioritize your tasks so no matter how you capture your tasks you can evaluate them properly and get them done.

Brain Dump Habit

Start with a brain dump.

I say this every time I talk about tasks and lists because it is effective and important. Sit down and thoroughly dump every task you can think of. Don’t worry about putting the tasks into categories.

It’s ok if you’re mixing personal tasks with work tasks because at the end of the day all of them go into one calendar – your calendar. Just record what comes to your mind.

Pick one place to record your brain dumps. It doesn’t matter if it’s paper and pen (notebook, notepad) or digital (notes app, Evernote, Asana, Google Doc, etc).

Stay consistent and recording in the same place is a good habit. It will also help you think clearer because you won’t be constantly trying to retain all this information in your brain.

Prioritizing Tasks

This is the process that an app or a piece of paper can’t do for you. At least not yet, I’m sure there is a software engineer out there working on this right now. You are using your brain dump to build your task list for the day. Just start with the day in front of you.

Due dates: If any task has a specific due date make sure you prioritize accordingly. This does not mean that you schedule the task to be completed on the due date or the day before. Give yourself as much time and schedule it to be completed as early as possible.

Top priority tasks: Do what is most important and what is most urgent. Ask yourself if you don’t do this task today will something bad happen? If it’s important, urgent and has consequences if it’s not done today then those are your priority tasks for the day.

Easy wins: Quick simple tasks that need to get done. Answering an email, updating a sheet etc. Knock these fast tasks out next and BATCH them for efficiency.

Nice to dos: These are tasks that if you don’t complete today the world will not end but it would be great to get them done. These should be the last items on your list for the day.

Repeat: Once you have completed prioritized by following the steps above get started on your day. When you’re done for the day re-prioritize your list for the next work day so you can hit the ground running.