How to Prioritize Your Tasks—One Little Question, Big Results

Today, we prioritize!

Listener Liz writes in:

"I have too much on my to-do list to get everything done. The standard advice is to prioritize my tasks. But how do I do that?"

Great question, Liz! And you’re not alone in that challenge. Xris, the intern at Bernice’s Green Growing Things plant store, has gradually acquired more and more responsibility. And today, there are four things on the task list:

1. Collect receipts and prepare financial statements for Bernice
2. Feed the carnivorous Audrey II plants
3. Test out a new browser plugin that changes every occurrence of the word “politician” to “banana” (hilarious!)
4. Repot and water an ailing Venus flytrap plant

We’re going to explore the standard, tried-and-true, trite, overused method first: the Eisenhower Matrix. Then we’re going to add a twist that can often make it easier and more effective. 

Use an Eisenhower Matrix

The Eisenhower Matrix is what most people use to help them prioritize. Here's how it works.

Draw a square. Divide it into two rows and two columns. Label the left column URGENT, and the right column, NOT URGENT. Label top row IMPORTANT and the bottom row NOT IMPORTANT.

Now you put your tasks into the appropriate box. Here's how Xris did it.

Prepare financial statements. Xris is very proud that their idea to expand into non-carnivorous plants opened up the whole suburban market. Recently, Bernice started accepting corporate orders, which has been going like gangbusters. With such strong cash flow, Bernice hopes to acquire another plant store chain. Mergers and Acquisitions require good, clean financial statements. Xris wants to prepare the financials so when Bernice asks, they’re ready to go. The financials are definitely important.

Xris only knows about the plans, however, because Xris just happened to acquire mind-reading ability after polishing a battered brass lamp they found in Baghdad. During a recent conversation with Bernice, who had silently been thinking about the M&A activity. Right now it’s just in the exploratory stages, so there’s nothing urgent about the financials. 

“Prepare financials” goes in the upper right quadrant: important and non-urgent.

Feeding Audrey II plants. This is definitely important. When the Audrey IIs get hungry, they get a bit … testy. When Intern MG vanished a couple of...

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