TAME YOUR BULGING TO DO LIST AND LEARN HOW TO PRIORITISE YOUR TASKS LIKE A PRO

Alright my friends! I’ve been listening to your comments and questions and I know that you sometimes feel overwhelmed with everything you’ve got going on.

Where do you even begin when you’ve got a bulging To-Do list? Where do you start?

The answer, my sweet, is to prioritise your list.

Not everything is as important as everything else. We've got to focus on what matters most. And when you can prioritise your list of actions, activities and tasks, it makes getting started so much easier.

Prioritising will help you to conquer the procrastination that comes with not knowing what to do first. And it will help you to feel more in control of your day. Such a win-win! And I can’t wait for you to begin.

How to prioritise your tasks

1. Review your goals

The first step is to review your goals. If you haven’t set goals for yourself, then think about the intention you want to have for your life. What kind of person you want to be in the different roles you have.

You need to have a sense of what you’re going towards because the truth is, we’re all going in a particular direction. The question is, are you choosing the direction you’re headed in or allowing life to drift you toward a destination you don’t really want to end up at?

Living with intention is the backbone of being able to focus on what matters, so you’ll probably hear me chirp about this point all the time!

2. Ask 'Will is get me closer?' or 'Does it align?'

Once you know where you’re headed, the next step in how to prioritise your tasks is to ask a clarifying question;

What's the one thing I can do, that by doing it, everything else becomes easier or unnecessary?

from the one thing book by Gary Keller.

Or...

Will this task or activity get me closer to one of my goals?

If the answer is “Yes”, then this is an important task or activity and you can keep it on your list. And if you’re a diagram-loving person, you can put this task into quadrant 1 or 2 of the Eisenhower Matrix.

If the answer is no, then this is a task or activity that you can look at possibly getting rid of completely or giving to someone else. Even if this task or activity is urgent, you need to seriously consider passing this one over.

Now, if you’ve made a commitment to something like an ongoing activity, honour your word by not leaving people in the lurch. But then give whoever you need to give the appropriate notice that you’ve got to prioritise other things in this season of your life right now and you’ll be hanging up your skates with that activity at such and such a time in the future.

No one’s gonna get offended if you give them more than enough notice and you thank them for allowing you to be involved in the activity until now. A gracious hand-off is appreciated. So hand-off an activity in the way you’d like someone to hand off an activity with you.

3. If I could only do one thing, what would it be?

Once you’ve whittled your list down to the tasks that you’re going to keep on your To-Do list, you then need to ask another clarifying question.

This is a great focusing question. If you want to know how to prioritise your tasks, this is the question you need to ask once you’ve got your list of keepers...

If I could only do one thing, what would it be?

So, if you only had time to do ONE thing on your list, what would it be?

THAT, my friend, is your number one task. Number it. Highlight it. Circle it. Sticker it if you like. It’s a biggun!

Ask this question again to help you number the rest of your list.

If I had time to do one more thing, what would it be?

When you’ve asked this all the way down your list, you’ll have a list that is prioritised and will help you to move closer to your goals and live more intentionally.

Need some extra help prioritising your list? Then grab our pretty Daily Planner when you join our list. It’s been helping so many women gain clarity on the things that matter most. Enjoy!

"What's the ONE THING I can do that would make everything else easier or unnecessary?"

GARY KELLER

Related Blog Posts:

• The Art of Planning

• How to Choose Your Next Goal

• 4 Tips to Help You Organise Your Week