Your First Priority -- Prioritize!

Life offers us an abundance of activities and experiences. There is not enough time to do them all. That is why there is such a demand for time management training. One key to managing our time well is to be effective at prioritizing our work. Most executives know the simple strategy of choosing the top priorities to work on the next day and then actively working on those priorities. This is a simple and beneficial strategy. However when we do this randomly we tend to prioritize according to what is most urgent or most intriguing rather than what is most important. Steven R. Covey states that urgent tasks are tasks that need immediate attention. Important tasks are tasks that support you in what you truly value. If you want to boost your productivity and lower your work-related stress you must learn to spend your time on what is most important not on what is most urgent. If you lay some ground work you’ll be able to consistently choose the tasks that are the most important. I recommend that you create a master priority list from which to work. Establish a hierarchy of priorities that you can use as a guide.

To establish your hierarchy of priorities you need to first develop your master vision. What do you want your work to stand for? Imagine yourself in the last week of your career. You’re cleaning out your office and you stop to reflect on your career. You ask yourself the all important questions, “Did I accomplish what I most needed to accomplish in my work? Did I get to experience what I most wanted to experience?” What would those accomplishments and experiences be for you? It’s different for every person. Develop a vision of what you want your work to be about. What you want to accomplish and experience. What your vision is of the ideal career.

Developing your master vision lays initial groundwork of effective prioritizing that allows for a fruitful and productive career. Now you need to build on it. The next layer of effective prioritizing is to establish a hierarchy of priorities for the tasks you need to perform to make your vision a reality.

Edwin created his hierarchy of priorities and divided it into three groups. His top priority group was to provide great customer service to his current customers. He made a list of the activities he typically needed to perform for customers. He prioritized that list so if there was ever more than one customer needing his attention at the same time he knew which task took precedence. His next priority group was to gain new customers. He made a list of the activities he typically performed that generated new business. He prioritized that list so if more than one project was going on he knew which task took precedence. His third group of priorities was administrative tasks. He made a list of the activities he typically performed that pertained to business administration. He prioritized them. At the end of each business day Edwin would list the tasks that needed to be done. He would run each task past his hierarchy of priorities and give it a priority according to his pre-determined hierarchy. He was no longer swayed by pressures or interest. He could now easily reach his business goals because he was always working on the tasks that were the most important.

David was the owner and manager of a small insurance office. His hierarchy of priorities that he provided for his commercial division staff looked something like this:

A. Servicing current clients

• Additional new coverage to existing clients
• Evidence of insurance or certificate of insurance
• Handling payment issues
• Responding to a VIP client
• Handling requests from management other than the above listed items.
• Reporting claims

B. Gaining New Business / Commercial Policies

• Gather quote information
• Quote / rate policies if possible
• Contact companies for review and availability
• Complete applications / supplementals / submit
• Follow up
• Present quotation
• Complete necessary paperwork and financing

C. Administrative

• Mail
• Notices from insurance companies
• Files/ filing
• Resumes
• Problems – claim, coverage
• People
• Marketing pieces development
• Agency management – administration

David had nine people on his staff. Providing this hierarchy of priorities to the staff ensured that everyone was working on the most important issues at all times.

The last practice that will help you be more effective in your prioritizing is to prioritize interruptions as soon as they come into your day. Interruptions flow into an executive’s workday all day long in the form of telephone calls, emails, co-workers, customers, family, meetings etc. Eliminate as many interruptions as you can by asking yourself, Can I discard this? Can I delegate this? Can I handle this in 60 seconds or less? If you can discard, delegate, or handle the interruption in less than a minute than do so. If the interruption is one that you can not discard, delegate, or handle immediately than ask yourself one final important question. “Is this interruption more important than what I’m currently working on or is what I am currently working on more important than this interruption?” Check your hierarchy of priorities to determine which is most important and act accordingly. If what you are currently working on is more important than the interruption you can say something like this to the person interrupting you. “Carl, I really want to help you with that but I have my back up against a wall on a project. Would it be all right if I helped you with that as soon as I’m finished with this? Let the person see you write it down to get back to them. Than continue with what you were working on.

In review there are four layers to effective prioritizing. Layer one is to develop your master vision of what you want your career to be about. Determine your destiny. Layer two is to establish a hierarchy of priorities for the tasks you regularly perform. Layer three is at the end of each day look at the tasks that still need to be done and run them past your hierarchy of priorities to determine the top priorities for the following day. Finally, layer four is to assess interruptions as they come into your day and prioritize which is most important- the interruption or what you are already working on.

By prioritizing effectively you spend your time wisely. By spending your time wisely you improve your productivity. By improving your productivity you thrive in business. The first priority is to prioritize.