How to Tackle your Priorities
About the Authors:
NEIL FLANAGAN and JARVIS FINGER
World-renowned business strategists and authors of several international best-selling books on management. Neil is a sought-after keynote, conference and motivational speaker and Jarvis is the award-winning founder and editor of Australia's best known magazine for school administrators.
Setting priorities is a decision-making process in which you rank in order of importance the tasks you or your staff members must do. By completing the tasks on your list in order, you will achieve your goals. It sounds easy—but it's not. In fact, priority setting and sticking to the agreement you make with yourself will be one of your major challenges as a manager. Here are ten important suggestions to help you draw up a priority list—and make it work.
Address management problems first
Give top priority to any problem on your list that is making you ineffective as a manager. If, for example, you have a personal conflict with others on your management team, your effectiveness in dealing with other priorities could be seriously hampered. Face such problems immediately, get them out in the open and devise a solution quickly.
Group your priorities meaningfully
It is sometimes possible to put your daily goals into a priority pattern that saves time and effort. For example, by postponing an inspection of new equipment in the factory block across the parking lot until after lunch, you might find that you're able to do this following a scheduled mid-afternoon meeting with the factory supervisor. You may even be able to accomplish a couple more of your goals for the day during that one trip. Forward planning brings its rewards.
Do it—or remove it
Don't let an item become an irritation to you. If a task has been on your priority list for a long time, handle it immediately or drop it from the list. If it has to be done, do it. If not, get rid of it and make room for something more important.
Resist chopping and changing
Jumping back and forth from one priority to another will get you nowhere. If you start something and keep switching to something else, you will lose motivation. If a task is near the top of your list, it's worth completing. Management consultant Ivy Lee's often repeated advice to US industrialist Charles Schwab is relevant here: 'Dig right in on priority job number one and stick to it until it's done. Tackle job number two in the same way; then number three and so on. Don't worry if you only finish one or two by the end of the day—you'll be concentrating on the most urgent ones.'
Balance your priorities
However, by focusing on a major, very time-consuming task which you have listed at or near the top of your list, you can sometimes neglect the other important tasks that cannot be postponed, resulting in further problems in the long run. Keep all your priorities in mind to stop this happening . Ivy Lee's advice—to stick at priority number one until it's completed—may well be wise counsel for some managers, but it pays to review the situation if something is taking up too much of your time and be flexible in focusing on your top priorities. Allocate generous slots of time to knock off the most time- consuming items, while still leaving room to deal with other pressing issues.
Re-assign the priorities when necessary
Similarly, when a task proves to be so difficult that an immediate solution is not possible, you may be compelled to take more time to consider the facts and options. Drop it down the list where you can watch it but not forget it. Decide on the next step and allocate time appropriately to deal with that when you have the information you require.
Follow up on your priorities
Check on a daily basis to see that your priority tasks were actually completed and assess their achievement. Only when you're satisfied can you then confidently remove them from your list.
Confront those difficult tasks head-on
Don't lower a high priority task just because you're afraid to face it. Playing for time doesn't solve many problems. Your priority list will not serve you well unless you are honest with yourself and put the important though difficult things first. Once more, remind yourself of Ivy Lee's advice.
Communicate all vital information
If one of the tasks on your priority list requires communication throughout the workplace or office, for example, then it should receive special treatment. Delaying such action could result in even more problems being added to your list.
Accept that you will always have a priority list
Whenever you complete a task, another will appear to take its place. As a manager, that's what your job is all about. If your list gets too short, then you're either not sufficiently involved in the life of your organisation or you have earned yourself a well-deserved break!
Just about Everything a Manager Needs to Know
By Neil Flanagan and Jarvis Finger
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