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I can't prioritize! Here are some reasons why and some tips to get your work done efficiently!
"How should I set priorities?" If you're feeling this way, you're probably overwhelmed with daily work.
Causes of Inability to Set Priorities
To efficiently progress with daily work, it's important to first accurately set priorities for the tasks you have.
Here, we'll dive deep into the main causes of being unable to set priorities.
Let's look at each one.
When faced with numerous tasks, it can be difficult to know where to start, and before you know it, time just slips away.
Unable to Grasp the Big Picture of Work
One of the major causes is not being able to see the overall picture and flow of work.
When you can't grasp the big picture, it becomes difficult to judge the importance and urgency of individual tasks, making it unclear which tasks should be prioritized.
Important tasks tend to be postponed, which likely leads to decreased efficiency. It's recommended to first thoroughly understand the overall workflow and purpose of the work, and then organize tasks based on this understanding.
When you can't properly prioritize, problems tend to arise, such as missing deadlines or having to work overtime.
On the other hand, setting appropriate priorities can greatly improve work efficiency and significantly reduce stress and wasted time.
In this article, we'll explain in detail why you might struggle with prioritization, its causes, and countermeasures.
We'll also introduce specific methods and tips for developing habits to work efficiently, so please read until the end.
Poor Task and Time Management
Not being able to properly manage tasks and time leads to an inability to set priorities.
When schedules remain vague, it becomes unclear what needs to be done and by when, often resulting in an unplanned approach to work.
This makes it difficult to track task progress and can lead to being rushed by deadlines. It's effective to use time and task management tools to visually grasp your work and stay organized.
Being a Perfectionist
Perfectionism is also one of the major factors that can make you lose sight of priorities.
In pursuit of perfection, you might spend too much time on minor tasks, neglecting important work that should be prioritized.
By working on low-priority tasks, overall efficiency decreases as a result. Rather than seeking perfection, it's better to progress through tasks at appropriate times.
Frequent Unexpected Work Assignments
When unexpected work frequently comes up on a daily basis, planned tasks tend to be interrupted or postponed. As a result, being caught up in urgent matters leads to postponing other tasks, which ultimately delays overall work progress.
While unexpected work assignments may be unavoidable at times, it's important to properly set priorities, maintain buffer time in your schedule, and plan ahead on how to handle sudden tasks.
Prioritizing Only Easy Tasks Due to Low Motivation
When motivation is low, there's a tendency to prioritize only tasks that can be completed easily.
By postponing difficult or time-consuming tasks, important work doesn't progress, time gets wasted, and this can lead to overtime work and problems.
Finding ways to maintain motivation while properly tackling important tasks is essential for improving work efficiency.
Being Controlled by Deadlines
There are times when multiple work deadlines overlap, causing confusion about which tasks should be prioritized. When we let deadlines control us, efficiency often drops due to the resulting anxiety.
Furthermore, when deadline management is poor, it tends to lead to situations such as increased overtime work or missing deadlines altogether.
It's important to understand the deadlines for each task in advance and proceed with proper planning.
Lack of Concentration
When you lack focus, even if you prioritize tasks, you can't concentrate and progress ultimately gets delayed.
There are various reasons for becoming distracted during work, but it's often influenced by your environment, physical condition, and mental fatigue.
When you can't concentrate, prioritizing tasks won't be effective, so measures to maintain focus are necessary. For example, it would be good to utilize techniques like the "Pomodoro Technique," which involves focusing intensely for short periods.
Problems That Occur When Unable to Set Priorities
When you proceed with work without setting priorities, not only does work progress stall, but various problems can also arise.
Here, I will introduce the problems that occur when unable to set priorities.
Let's look at each one.
Missing Deadlines
One of the most prominent problems is failing to meet deadlines.
This happens because when you can't accurately grasp the importance and urgency of tasks, important work tends to get pushed back.
As a result, you end up rushing to complete work right before the deadline, which not only reduces the quality of work but can also impact other tasks. By properly prioritizing tasks, secure enough time for each task and proceed in a planned manner to prevent deadline delays.
Unable to Handle Unexpected Work
When proceeding with work without setting priorities, you lose the flexibility to respond to sudden, unexpected tasks.
When working without proper planning, you often end up being unprepared and reactive when urgent tasks come in.
As a result, being unable to immediately handle urgent requests can lead to a loss of trust.
By clearly determining task priorities in advance, you can maintain enough flexibility to smoothly handle unexpected work when it comes up.
Increase in Overtime Work
When you proceed with work without setting priorities, you often end up having to rush through tasks right before deadlines, which frequently results in increased overtime work.
When you can't focus on the most urgent tasks and spend time on less important work, you won't be able to complete your work with enough time before deadlines. As a result, you'll need to work outside regular business hours, which can lead to stress, fatigue, and decreased productivity.
Efficient prioritization is important for reducing overtime and maintaining a balanced workload.
How to Set Priorities
Setting priorities is essential for working efficiently.
However, when you don't know where to start, tasks can pile up and work can come to a standstill.
Here, we'll explain specific methods for setting priorities.
By following these steps, you can get a better overview of your work and proceed with tasks in a planned manner.
Let's look at each step in detail.
1. List Out All Your Current Work
As the first step, let's make a list of all the work you're handling. Since it's difficult to accurately determine priorities when trying to organize everything just in your head, it's important to first visualize your tasks clearly.
Using paper or digital tools, write down everything, including small tasks. This will help you see what's truly important and what should be prioritized.
Taking inventory of tasks is the first step in grasping the overall picture of your work, so make sure to do this first.
2. Prioritizing Tasks
Next, we'll prioritize the tasks that have been listed. However, it's important to establish clear criteria for classification, as giving equal weight to all tasks can lead to confusion.
Here, we'll introduce the criteria and methods for determining priority, such as urgency, importance, and dependency on others.
Prioritize Based on Urgency and Importance
When categorizing tasks, it is recommended to use urgency and importance as criteria.
Tasks that are both urgent and important should be given top priority, but tasks that are important but not urgent should also be addressed early.
Conversely, tasks that are urgent but low in importance can be delegated to others. This allows for efficient task processing and enables you to focus on important work.
Check if the task can be done alone
One important point to verify is whether the task can be completed by one person. Tasks that require cooperation from others or depend on external factors need coordination in advance.
Conversely, tasks that can be completed alone can be handled early even if they are low priority, allowing you to create an environment where you can focus on other work.
It's good to determine whether tasks depend on others and start with those that can be completed efficiently.
Confirm the Process
Thoroughly checking the process for each task is also important when setting priorities.
Some tasks require multiple steps to complete, and each step needs deadlines and preparation.
If the process is not clear, unexpected problems may arise along the way, causing the plan to fall apart significantly.
After determining task priorities, check the process for each task and specifically decide which steps to proceed with and when.
Consult with Your Supervisor or Senior Colleagues
When it's difficult to decide which task to prioritize, consulting with your supervisor or senior colleagues can be effective.
When you try to handle everything alone, decisions tend to become subjective. However, by adding a third-party perspective, you can make more objective judgments.
Additionally, receiving feedback from your supervisor can help clarify how to proceed with work and set priorities, enabling you to progress through tasks more smoothly.
③Set Deadlines for Each Task
Once you've determined the priorities, set clear deadlines for each task.
Even for tasks with fixed due dates, the key is to set deadlines that allow you to complete them with some buffer time, rather than finishing right at the deadline.
This way, you can handle unexpected tasks or unforeseen problems without panic. Additionally, having this extra time will allow you to smoothly transition to the next task.
4. Incorporate into Schedule
Once you've set priorities and deadlines, incorporate tasks into your schedule. By putting them into a schedule, the workflow becomes visually organized, making it clear what needs to be done and when.
Rather than just writing down the schedule, it becomes more effective when you regularly review and adjust it to maintain flexibility.
Especially when unexpected tasks or changes occur, reorganizing the schedule becomes crucial, so it's good to develop a habit of regular review.
How to Make Prioritization a Habit
Simply setting priorities once is not enough; making it a habit is essential for working efficiently in the long term.
However, among those who struggle with prioritization, many may worry whether they can actually turn it into a habit.
Therefore, I will now explain specific methods to make prioritization a habit.
Make time to review tasks every morning
Create "most important tasks" that must be accomplished that day
Don't aim for perfection
Keep the goal in mind
Let's take a look at each of these.
Create Time to Review Tasks Every Morning
As a first step in forming a habit, make time to review and organize your tasks every morning.
By listing and organizing tasks that were left unfinished from the previous day and newly arising tasks, it becomes clear what should be prioritized.
The morning is particularly advantageous as your mind is clear, making it easier to focus on organizing tasks.
However, if it's difficult to make time in the morning, it's also effective to list the next day's tasks at the end of your current workday. This helps you see what tasks need to be tackled first thing the next morning, making it easier to hit the ground running.
Create "Most Important Tasks" that must be accomplished on that day
Setting "Most Important Tasks" that must be accomplished from your daily tasks is effective.
It's recommended to select about three of the most important tasks and make an effort to prioritize them.
By focusing on these "3 Most Important Tasks," priorities become clear, and you can work with concentration without being distracted by other tasks.
By continuing this method, you will develop a habit of steadily progressing on important work, and the overall work efficiency will improve.
Don't Aim for Perfection
Intentionally not aiming for perfection is one of the tips to make prioritization a habit.
When trying to perfect a single task, it may take longer to complete and potentially impact other tasks.
Especially when working on a task for the first time, it's a good idea to check with your supervisor when you're about 70-80% done. This way, you can work on other tasks while waiting for feedback.
Additionally, getting feedback when the work is somewhat complete serves two purposes: if you're heading in the wrong direction, you can make corrections at an early stage.
Try approaching your work with a slightly relaxed attitude instead of insisting on perfection.
Keep Your Goals in Mind
When setting priorities, it's important to always be conscious of your ultimate goals. Having clear goals naturally helps you see the role and importance of each task.
When you focus only on the immediate tasks at hand, you tend to lose sight of the overall flow. However, by keeping your goals in mind, you can understand which tasks are necessary to reach those goals, and prioritization becomes more natural.
When you're unsure about priorities, it's helpful to focus on your specific vision for achieving your objectives.
How to Work Efficiently After Setting Priorities
Once you've set priorities, it's important to put them into practice and work efficiently.
Even with a priority-based plan, problems can occur during execution, and schedules can slip.
Here, we'll introduce specific methods on how to proceed with work while utilizing priorities.
Please read until the end and use this as a reference.
Work with Time Cushions
When proceeding with work based on priorities, having appropriate time cushions is important.
By having some leeway when tackling tasks, you can flexibly respond to unexpected work and problems that may arise.
If you pack your schedule too tightly, you'll have no room to maneuver when unplanned tasks come up, and you're likely to end up chasing urgent work while ignoring priorities.
For example, you can consider strategies like allowing extra time for each task's estimated duration or securing buffer time in your schedule. This enables you to handle unexpected situations and proceed with work in a less stressful environment.
Additionally, working with time cushions has the benefit of allowing you to produce more creative and higher quality results.
Regularly Review Tasks and Schedules
Even when you prioritize your work, situations and environments are constantly changing, so make sure to regularly review your tasks and schedules.
By reconfirming priorities and making necessary adjustments based on work progress, newly arising tasks, and schedule delays or changes, you can work more efficiently.
By making time to review your schedule at the end of each day or week, you can understand where delays are occurring and which tasks are progressing.
Especially for large projects or long-term work, you can proceed with plans smoothly by flexibly adjusting task priorities and schedules.
Additionally, conducting reviews makes it easier to notice new problems and bottlenecks, allowing you to take preventive measures.
By keeping your schedule up to date, you'll be able to work more efficiently.
Use Tools to Improve Work Efficiency
Using task and time management tools can be very effective in advancing work efficiently.
For example, using task management apps and project management tools makes it easier to centrally manage all work.
This improves management precision by allowing you to visually confirm which tasks are progressing, what deadlines are approaching, and which items may change in priority.
Additionally, one approach is to reduce work time by incorporating not only task management tools but also tools that can automate routine tasks.
For instance, if you can automate invoice generation processes, you can allocate that time to other tasks and increase the time spent on highest-priority tasks.
Many automation tools have been developed recently, so it's worth considering them.
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Summary | Graduate from being unable to prioritize and work efficiently!
In this article, we explained methods for prioritizing and how to make prioritization a habit.
When you can't prioritize, it's not uncommon to get overwhelmed by daily work, miss deadlines, or increase overtime. However, by properly prioritizing, you can work efficiently and reduce wasted time and stress.
First, it's important to write down tasks and prioritize them based on urgency and importance, making sure to proceed with some buffer time. This will allow you to flexibly respond to unexpected work and achieve stable results.
Please try applying the prioritization methods introduced in this article to your work.
Thank you for reading until the end.
最終更新日: 2024 / 11 / 18
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