Learn about these 5 methods to prioritize tasks and improve productivity in your company
Fito and Fitipaldis already sang it in one of their songs: “the urgent is not always the important”. But to discern between one and the other is to learn to prioritize.
Beyond the well-known To-Do List, there are different methods for prioritizing tasks and objectives that date back to the 60s, such as the Eisenhower matrix; or techniques such as Eat that frog, which encourages us to start the day with those tasks that we least want (from there, the day can only get better). Here are five methods to lay the first stone on the road to greater productivity in your company.
1. Eisenhower Matrix: Importance VS Urgency
The Eisenhower matrix is a task prioritization technique that plays with two variables – importance and urgency – and is attributed to the late president of the United States, Dwight Eisenhower. The matrix consists of four quadrants (urgent, non-urgent, important, and non-important), rated from 1 to 4 depending on the priority level, in which you should place your tasks and objectives to avoid paralysis by analysis:
- Quadrant 1: important and urgent. Those tasks that require your maximum dedication and to which priority level 1 is attributed.
- Quadrant 2: important , but not urgent. Long-term goals and tasks with a specific deadline, with a priority level 2.
- Quadrant 3: important and not urgent. Tasks that you can delegate or defer with a priority level 3.
- Quadrant 4: Not important and not urgent. Tasks or goals that you should eliminate directly.
Source: Ionos
2. Ivy Lee’s method
Considered in the United States as the “father of public relations”, Ivy Lee is the expert behind this method of prioritizing tasks that reached the hands of Charles Schwab, president of Bethlehem Steel. This method consists of, at the end of the working day, writing a list of the six most important tasks that you have to carry out the next day. Of these six items, prioritize which one you’re going to start with and make sure you don’t move on to the second item until you’ve finished the first one, and so on. If there are still tasks to be done at the end of the day, move them to the next day’s list (and remember, you can’t include more than six tasks).
3. Eat that frog
One of the simplest methods and, surely, the one that many of you will be applying without realizing it: the most unpleasant or least motivating tasks must be finished first. No exceptions. This way, the rest of the day will be more pleasant (as far as possible).
4. The ABCDE method
The ABCDE method consists of assigning a letter to each task based on the degree of importance. Devised by entrepreneur Brian Tracy, this technique helps us not only prioritize, but also understand which tasks are mere distractions. In general terms, the assignment of letters follows the following criteria: A (very important, there will be negative consequences if you do not); B (important, also includes negative consequences, although of lesser impact); C (stands for ‘nice to do’ and does not have negative consequences if it is not carried out); D (can be delegated) and E (eliminates this task when possible to gain time).
5. Warren Buffett’s List
With an estimated fortune of $84.9 billion and occupying the third position on the list of the richest investors in the United States, Warren Buffett’s method of defining and prioritizing long-term goals is surprisingly simple in its conception (though not so much in its practice).
The first step is to write a list of your 25 priority goals (they don’t have to be limited to the professional field) and then point out the five most important ones. Once you’ve selected these five goals, avoid the other 20. Yes, avoid them completely until you have fulfilled the first five, for Buffett they are burdens that will make it difficult to achieve your main goals.
