How to Prioritise your To-do list
Setting priorities daily is important, In order to do productive work and not get overwhelmed. You might struggle with this if you have too many deadlines at the same time, or exams to study for in the near future. But learning how to prioritise your tasks is important for doing the work.
Here are a couple of tips:
1. Set 3 priorities every day and write them down at the top of your to-do list.
Your priorities should be the hardest tasks of the day, or ones that will take most of your time. For example, an assignment deadline, an exam, a class, or which chapter you’re writing for your thesis that day. Having more than 3 is overwhelming and likely unrealistic.
2. Be specific.
Instead of writing down “study for exam” or “write thesis” in your top 3 priorities of the days, make sure they’re more specific. For example, “review chapters 5-7 for biology exam”, or “write thesis results section”. Having concrete priorities will help you set follow up tasks.
3. Break it down even more.
The follow up tasks in your to-do list should be related to the 3 priorities and will help you achieve them. For example, reviewing your notes for the 3 chapters you’d like to cover for the exam preparation, or writing the introduction, methods and results for your paper deadline. It’s important to break down big tasks into smaller and more manageable ones.
4. Use time-blocking technique for time management.
Think about how long approximately each task will take you to complete, so that you can plan your time accordingly. For example, if the 3 chapters that you need to review will take you 2 hours per chapter, you can schedule 2 hour study blocks throughout your day, with breaks in between.
I hope these tips are useful! Let us know if you’d like me to write more about time management and productivity in the future! Email us!