Summary
I’ve seen a wide array of ways people and companies deal with priorities. The ones that achieve their goals and have success are great at setting the right priorities and sticking to them. They make it…a priority (pun totally intended). The ones that constantly struggle to meet their goals either fail to set priorities, fail to respect those priorities, or both. From an organizational perspective, I’ve seen companies that were extremely aligned from top to bottom with clear, unified priorities and goals that were consistently achieved. I’ve also seen companies without alignment where priorities were competing or constantly shifting. It’s hard to build traction or synergy that way, isn’t it? In this article, we’ll discuss how you and your organization can prioritize effectively when everything seems like a high priority. Here are some key takeaways from this article:
- Habits of people who prioritize effectively
- Determining priorities and adjusting to changes
- Tips for success
Habits of People Who Prioritize Effectively
To build good habits, you have to prioritize them (it’s one of the five P’s I often share: 1) Purpose, 2) Plan, 3) Prioritize, 4) Practice, and 5) Patience – more on these here). To prioritize effectively, you have to make it a habit. Yes, that’s kind of a paradox, but as you’ll see, it makes sense. Here are some priority habits worth working on.
Habit #1: They keep a centralized to-do list
It’s hard to prioritize and rank tasks when they aren’t all in the same place, isn’t it? While you might have different types of tasks spread across many systems and parts of your life, pulling them together into one place is key for making sure you consider everything. My personal approach is to use my email inbox, calendar, and task list in Outlook. If I’m in a hurry or don’t want to get too distracted, I often send myself an email with the key thoughts. I flag emails I need to follow up on, and I file the ones that I no longer need to read or act on (the XLEV8 File Email Messages macro makes filing emails so quick and easy!). As Dr. Covey’s quote says above – schedule your priorities!
Habit #2: They consider others when prioritizing
Considering others when prioritizing really means two things. First, when you communicate or seek input, you’re making sure you’re aligning with the priorities of those all around you but especially above you. What manager wouldn’t appreciate that? Second, when you consider how your work affects other people, it’s a sign of respect, maturity, and often strategic thinking. If one of my tasks could potentially be a bottleneck for others or save them a lot of time, I’m likely to prioritize it. It’s not always an option, but a factor worth considering.
Habit #3: They consider the projected value of tasks
I often consider the potential value a task could bring, whether that’s tangible or intangible, time, money, reputation, learning, etc. If those are all low, it’s deferred or removed. If one or more of those are high, it becomes more of a priority. Try to be objective and realistic about the value and maybe do a rough ROI. As imperfect as we humans are, it’s amazing how often we talk ourselves into things we shouldn’t do.
Habit #4: They’re realistic and aren’t afraid to say no or to make a cut
Saying no or making a cut despite sunk costs builds on the value factor. We can only do so much, and knowing your limits is another sign of maturity. You don’t always owe an explanation for declining a task but I’ve found it’s helpful to have one handy just in case. If making a priority cut when there’s already been significant time/money invested on the other hand, if you don’t have a really compelling reason handy, you might be out of a job!
Habit #5: They frequently reassess priorities
Priorities change all the time. Such goes life. And they should change when warranted. Anticipating changing priorities is a valuable skill – keep your antenna up and be aware of what’s going on. Spend (or even schedule) some time each month/week/day thinking through the long, medium, and short-term priorities. Reuse your thinking here but be mindful of what should change.
Habit #6: They write everything down
This is a good habit for so many reasons but it’s definitely a big one for prioritizing. If you completely forget about something important and it’s not in your centralized to-do list from habit #1 above, how are you supposed to consider it on the priority scale? Some people might say if you can’t remember it, it must not be a priority but as someone who is extremely visual, I disagree. Here’s a good example: my truck’s oil change light was on for over a month before I finally remembered to schedule the service. It’s certainly a priority to keep the truck running well (especially when I pre-paid for the service!) but I forgot to write it down, so I left it off of my to-do list for longer than I would have liked.
Habit #7: They schedule the highest priorities first
You’ve probably heard or seen the analogy of the jar full of rocks, sand, and water (see the image above). Those rocks are the things you make sure get done. That doesn’t mean they have to be schedule as the first task of the day (although I’ve found that often helps – much like my 6:00 am workout today!), but they should at least be considered first in your schedule. This is what I’m continuously teaching my kids: get your responsibilities done first before the fun things (where they always seem to lose track of time).
Habit #8: They tackle the biggest, hardest, and least appealing task early in the day
Building right off of scheduling or considering the highest priority first, it often helps to attack the least appealing one first. Mark Twain famously called this “eating the frog.” Who wants the prospect of doing something they don’t want to do hanging over their head all day? On the flip side, how great does it feel when you got it done (or made some progress)? I took this approach when studying for the CPA exam. I got to work early (avoiding traffic!) and studied for 1-2 hours before anyone else got there (avoiding distractions!). I still got all my work done and had a little time in the evenings to spend with my wife. I passed the exam parts quickly, despite having a demanding public accounting workload. Looking back, maybe we should have celebrated by eating frog legs…
Determining Priorities and Adjusting to Changes
With habit #3 in his famous book “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” Dr. Covey covers how to prioritize by “putting first things first.” Much like the grid in the image above, he says to focus first on tasks that are urgent and important. Defer, delegate, or delete everything else. That seems pretty straightforward, right? The tough part then is to determine what is important and urgent, and within that quadrant, how we should rank those items. Here are some things that help break it all down.
Align goals with core values, mission, and vision
On a personal and organizational perspective, the best kind of goals are the ones you align with your core values, your mission, and your vision. Make them SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound). It’s okay to have some goals that aren’t as aligned, but the big ones should be. Remember that actions speak louder than words and this is a great way to prove that out.
Start with goals and work backwards
Goals often have deadlines imposed on them. While sometimes these aren’t negotiable (like December 31 ending the calendar year!), some are more fluid. Regardless of that, respect deadlines and treat them with urgency. Assign your own personal deadlines and stick to them the best you can (remember to include some cushion). Work backwards from the deadline so you have an idea when you’ll need to start and complete sub-components.
Break down large goals into achievable milestones
The word momentum is used a lot in sports because it has a major impact on the outcome of games. Success generally has a ripple effect because of the addictive, positive energy it brings. Large, complex tasks often feel overwhelming until you take the first step (the toughest one). Marathons are run one stride at a time, mile by mile. Take this approach when planning out and prioritizing your work so that you feel that sense of accomplishment. Make sure to celebrate your achievements along the way!
Consider dependencies and bottlenecks
Your tasks may not seem like major priorities. But how do they fit into the bigger picture? If they could potentially delay a mission critical project, they’d probably be at the top of your priority list! You don’t necessarily need to know all the details of a large-scale project, but understanding how your piece fits into the greater project, including upstream and downstream components, will help you prioritize accordingly.
Adjusting to changes
Being proactive can help as much as anything. Two helpful thoughts there:
- Be mindful of what’s going on in the business through all-hands meetings, newsletters, and the various parts of your network. Connect with people in many different parts of the business.
- Meet regularly with your manager and include a few minutes on the agenda around priorities and goals. Obviously this is more important in some roles than others.
To minimize the impact of changes in priorities, here are two helpful thoughts:
- Have some cushion in your schedule to accommodate urgent unplanned tasks. Have a backlog of less urgent but important tasks you can work on if that cushion isn’t needed.
- Take good notes. Chances are you’ll have to come back to tasks that got re-prioritized. With good notes, you can pivot back to those tasks much, much more easily.
Tips for Success
Here are a few other tips for success in setting and achieving priorities:
Establish a priority framework
If you’re a top leader at your organization, consider establishing a framework for how people should prioritize their work. Use this template Excel file to make your framework cheatsheet. When everyone uses a common, unified approach, it reduces friction and confusion, and increases synergy.
Set due dates for everything
For anything worth keeping on your to-do list, set a due date, even if it’s well into the future. This accomplishes two things: first it ensures completeness so you don’t miss tasks, and second, it frees up your focus for the more urgent items.
Speak up
Don’t be afraid to challenge the status quo. As long as you’re professional and clearly explain your position, your feedback should be appreciated. Leaders often rely on their teams for feedback and what they are seeing in their day-to-day tasks to help them prioritize.
If you have your own tips or best practices for managing priorities, please share in the comments below!
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