Why Learning to Prioritize Should be At the Top of Everyone’s To-Do List

Community Manager — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 13:09:00 GMT

It is a familiar scenario. On any given work day, multiple projects and tasks come across our desks labeled "Top priority." We then go home to the embrace of family members who need X or Y right away and the cold stare of a pile of bills that are (almost) past due. With so many contenders competing for top spot on our daily to-do list, it is no wonder that we end up feeling stressed and burned out.

To de-stress and rekindle the flame of enthusiasm for our professional and home lives, we need to learn to prioritize. While making the best use of our time and resources might seem like a tall order, prioritization is a skill we all can master a step at a time.

As this MindTools article points out, you can start prioritizing based on one of three factors:

Value or profitability - Whether it involves a sophisticated valuation or a subjective guess, this is one of the more common, and rational, approaches to prioritizing projects and tasks
Time constraints - This approach is useful when others are depending on you to complete a task, especially one that is key to an important project
Pressure to complete - Before prioritizing a task or project on this basis, you should consider just how realistic and legitimate the pressure is, regardless of its source

The P.O.S.E.C. method is another practical approach to prioritizing work-life tasks. At its core is the premise that we can better handle whatever comes our way if we first pay attention to our everyday, personal responsibilities. This informative post from project management expert Mark Phillips depicts the method's hierarchical guideline as follows:

Prioritize -Your time and define your tasks by goals.
Organize -Things you have to accomplish regularly to be successful (everyday administrative tasks, attendance/punctuality, workspaces)
Streamline -Things you may not like to do, but have to do (specific project-related tasks you are not keen on)
Economize -Things you should do, or may even like to do, but that are not pressingly urgent (working on projects you enjoy, longer term projects, personal development and learning new skills)
Contributing - By paying attention to the things that make a difference, but do not necessarily have an immediate measurable benefit (added detail, consideration or kindness)

One technique that works for me is at the end of each work day, I make a list of things that I want to accomplish on the next day. This simple activity makes me think about my 'priorities', and in the morning I am ready to attack my list.

We want to hear from you. If you have a practical and proven way of prioritizing, please comment on it here or at our Beyond Folders Facebook page.

by Candie Harris

Imagining Life Unplugged

Community Manager — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 10:41:00 GMT

Since its premiere way back in 1989, MTV Unplugged has featured popular musicians performing acoustic versions of their electric repertoire (like this moving classic from Eric Clapton). I find the idea of unplugging to reconnect with the heart and soul of what we do and who we are very appealing.

But, it is also hard to imagine how this appealing idea can become a reality. Whether or not we are digital natives, many of us spend a huge amount of time tethered to our computers, smartphones and e-readers.

To give you a sense of things, according to a recent report, the average U.S. internet user spends about 68 hours online and visits nearly 2700 websites each month. We are also prolific smartphone users. So prolific that professors at M.I.T.'s Sloan School of Management have studied the affects of Blackberry overuse . Even the mainstream media alerts us to signs of smartphone addiction.

So, assuming we want to (and that is a big assumption), how do we make the break and unplug from technology - even for a little while? A post from the productivity blog Zen Habits offers a roadmap of sorts by detailing these 3 Ways To Claim Your Life Back:

Time yourself
Plan specific non-computer activities
Uninstall and remove unnecessary programs

You can also find some practical tips in this article on taking a vacation from speed and noise. Among the suggested escapes are:

Using foot power to get around
Setting no appointments, schedules or deadlines
Playing games
Reading books

We would love to field some real world tips and tools to share with everyone here. So, please let us know how you unplug from the technology in your life.

by Carly Fadako

Beyond Folders : unplugged, communication

Why Learning to Prioritize Should be At the Top of Everyone’s To-Do List

Imagining Life Unplugged