THE KEY TO PRIORITISING…
Earlier this week I came across this very comprehensive video which explained in detail the many different types of prioritisation strategies, from some of the most iconic ones, such as the Eisenhower Matrix, to the unbeknown to me MosCow Method. It was a useful video, albeit incredibly hard to assimilate as you're getting ready for work. So I’ve made a note to get back to it.
As I was walking Archie, however, a thought kept creeping up. Surely it should not be this hard.
Prioritisation is my superpower. My work life revolves around planning and project managing all types of gigs. So why did I feel like I needed to rewind and take notes about these many strategies in order to confidently feel like I could apply them in my personal life? Isn’t that already in itself a task I need to somehow schedule into my already packed week? I could not quite put my finger on why this did not feel right, but now that I’ve had time to reflect, here is what I would like to share with you.
Image: @glenncarstenspeters
When I manage projects at work, I look at them from a distance. It is easy to be objective and treat tasks for what they are: time spent towards accomplishing a goal. There are also very obvious KPIs (key performance indicators) that give feedback if we’re being effective delivering these - including how long and how much we’ve spent on them - since it is not only the end result that counts.
But to put it simply, there is absolutely no way I can approach my “Life Admin” in the same way. I could list a series of reasons why, but the most obvious one is how subjective our day to day tasks can be.
Take it “sort out my bedroom” and the many variations of it: clean, tidy, organise…
If you’re lucky enough to have built that into a habit, you’re already programmed to handle it on auto-pilot, and you’ll probably not allow it to get into a state when it becomes overwhelmingly impossible to manage.
I am grateful enough that this is where I am right now, but it hasn’t always been the case. There was a time in my life when I was going through severe depression and getting out of bed was hard enough. CBT (Cognitive Behaviour Therapy) helped me develop tools which to this day I apply to almost everything I do. They helped me find clarity to objectively review my infinite task lists, organise, prioritise and ultimately deliver them. And I want to share what these are with you.
It is important to highlight that the steps below are just my tips, I am not a qualified therapist or an expert in CBT. If you want to know more about it, there are plenty of reliable resources online, but I strongly recommend the Mind Charity website.
Here is what I learnt during that period.
Breakdown your tasks into the smallest part. So the once daunting “Sort your bedroom” becomes many tasks instead of one.
Change the sheets
Hang the dry clean clothes
Vacuum the floor
Put away my winter clothes
Hang the new picture
Organise my chest of drawers - Oops!
Organise bottom drawer
Organise middle drawer
Separate unwanted clothes to donate
Before you freak out about how many things that one line item has turned into, remember that all that clutter was living in the back of your mind before you broke it down into smaller chunks and put it to paper.
Prior to it, if you had completed one thing, such as putting away your wash, you wouldn’t be able to say you’ve accomplished the task of sorting out your bedroom. But now as you complete each of these, some which might be very quick “easy wins”, you can cross them off. And you won’t believe how empowering that is. Your brain will do though, and it will release dopamine, which is a hormone that not only makes you feel pleasure and happiness, but guess what? It also enhances motivation. .
Sure, but the above is not really a prioritisation technique. I agree, but it is the first step towards. For example, now I can approach it like this:
I will first hang the dry clean clothes, so I can put away the drying rack
Freeing up floor space before I can vacuum, and I’d like to do that
Prior to changing my sheets so they don’t get dusty
I can empty my bottom drawer on the fresh linen in order to organise its contents
I will then move to my middle drawer and when I finish both of these
Hopefully I will have a pile on unwanted clothes ready to take to the charity shops
But I also would have made enough room to put away my winter clothes
Time allowing, I can now hang that frame!
All you need is to write a narrative with a logic that makes sense to you.
I find this a lot easier and way more effective than trying to arbitrarily determine if vacuuming is more urgent or important than putting away the wash.
Asking the following question helps me build these narratives: “What does this task unlock / helps me solve?”. Sometimes, the answer can be simply “it is an easy win, it will help motivate me”. And that’s fair enough, sometimes all that you need is a kick start, then by all means go ahead and hang that picture first!
This post is becoming extremely long, but I want to leave you with one more tip. A task is something that you can control.
Back in 2012 a recurring item on my to do list was “To get a job”. Back then I was freelancing and I felt like this was a task I could never cross off. But guess what? Getting a job, despite what you may think, is not 100% in your control. So here is what that would look like today when applying what we’ve learnt so far.
Update my LinkedIn
Give my CV a refresh
Pick three interesting job posts to apply to each day
Reach out to at least one person in my network each week to ask if they know of any places hiring
Identify at least one potential opportunity for upskilling this month
Look for free online courses which could add value to my ideal role and dedicate 30 minutes daily to these
You’ll see that by consistently putting the work towards what’s within your control, you will not only “get a job”, but build the career that speaks the most to you.
And with that, have a great week!
