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We've all heard the phrase, there isn't enough time in the day. When it comes to work, you may find yourself scrambling at the end of the day to complete everything you need to do. Are you the kind of person where those overtime hours are starting to cut back on your family time, personal time, rest and relaxation? Or, are you the one who clocks out at exactly 5:00PM, but are left with late projects and incomplete work? If you're lucky, you don't fall into either of these categories. That being said, even the most organized person can fall into the trap of wishing they had just one more hour. Prioritizing is an important skill to getting the most out of your work day.
Here are some steps for you to decipher which task, projects, and duties need to be completed first, and which can be put off to a later time.
Time Wasters
Did you hear that Sandra Bullock is filming a new movie in Boston? I heard it's called "The Heat" and is set to be released in 2013. This is exactly the kind of thing that should be on your Not to Do list. During the average eight hour workday, how much of the time are you actually working? There are so many distractions in this day and age, most of which stem from t
e internet or coworkers. Whether you are talking to your cubical neighbor about the latest celebrity gossip, shopping, reading the news, or tweeting about lunch, all of these are interruptions to your work.
It's simple to declare that you are no longer going to partake in these disturbances, but it's quite another to actually be able to stop yourself. Your solution may be as effortless as writing yourself a sticky note and sticking it to the edge of your monitor-"I will not go on Facebook while I'm working." For others, giving yourself a doable option is more attractive, such as limiting the time you allow yourself to spend browsing the web i.e. "I will only go on Pinterest for fifteen minutes per day."
Easy Peasy
In most jobs, there are easy or mundane things that you have to do, and as easy as they are, they get put off. If you don't have anything left that requires your immediate attention, grab a hold of that large stack of papers that have been waiting to be filed and get it done. Plain and simple. Odds are, you'll end up with some spare time at the end where you can stop for those fifteen minutes and look at your Pinterest account.
Eventually
This category falls in the middle of the scale and relates to those projects (important or not) that don't need to be completed for a couple of weeks, a month, or more. You have to complete them eventually, but not necessarily now. The important thing to remember is that these will eventually become urgent, if you avoid them off long enough.
Before you walk over to your co-worker's desk, take a second to reassess the timeframe of your eventual task. Working on it little by little, when you have spare time can be the answer. This way, when the due date actually arrives, you won't have to rush to finish at the very last minute.
 ASAP
There are some things you simply cannot put off. Let's say your manager asked you to pull together some research for the presentation she is giving in two days. This is both important and urgent, which means it cannot be put off to a later time. If something like this is set aside, your job or even your manager's job could be at stake.
This can get tricky when you have two or more tasks that require immediate attention. Your best bet is to find out the deadline for each. If this doesn't solve your problem, work on the one you can complete the quickest first. That way, it will be done and you can move on to the next urgent task. If all else fails, ask for help. There is no reason to get yourself in trouble, get others in trouble, or to turn your work in late, if there is someone you can ask to help you.
Prioritizing can be difficult, but it can be done. Just like all of the other work you do, time is precious, so use it wisely. By prioritizing, you just might be able to clock out at 5:00PM without any worries!
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