How to Prioritise Your Workload

Prioritisation is a key trait of successful people. To prioritise you need to identify the difference between the important, urgent and the unnecessary. With good preparation and emphasis on prioritisation, you will begin to feel more in control.

Create a to-do list
Time management experts recommend taking 15 minutes at the end of the day to prepare a to-do list for the next day so tasks will be fresh in your mind and easier to remember. These items should come from your main list, with new tasks created throughout the day. These new tasks are generally a result of meetings, new assignments and mail. However, don’t let your inbox dictate your day. If you receive a lot of emails, this means a lot of distractions. Allocate time when your will check your inbox, for example every half an hour. Try not to check your inbox every time you see a message alert.

Keep the list manageable
A to do list is great for keeping you on track, but it can become useless when over loaded with tasks. Make sure you generate a ‘daily’ to do list to keep the list manageable and you should be able to complete nearly all the tasks in one day. Experts suggest limiting the tasks to a maximum or 8 a day.

Delegate some tasks to others 
Leave administration duties for someone else, if possible, for example answering phone calls. If you utilise a virtual office, many packages include access to admin support.
Keep password and templates nearby 
To avoid distraction when searching for passwords and missing templates keep them readily available in desktop shortcuts or email- folders. If you collaborate with a team, consider creating a shared folder or Google doc that everyone can view.

Useful tools 
It doesn’t matter how you make your list, whether you jot it down on a note pad or a desk diary or use an app or other online tool. If you do prefer to use an app or online tool, we have listed a couple which we think you will find useful: 
• Any.do is a mobile to do list manager and Chrome add on. This app supports iOS and Android. It can handle recurring tasks, timed and location based reminders and gets you started with the Any.do “moment”, a short review of everything you have on the table for the day
• Wunderlist, a desktop and mobile to do list manager for windows, Android and iOS, it is also a webapp. Simple and easy to use, Wunderlist supports timed reminders, recurring to-dos, lets you star your most important tasks and lets you share your to-dos with others.