Short-Term Goals will often include things from many different categories. You might have several things you need to finish for work by the end of the day, as well as the errands you need to run before heading home, and various things to do around the house when you get there. You could have a list of stress-causers, all things that need to be done in the next several hours. Long-Term Goals might include larger ambitions that will need to be broken down into multiple steps you’ll also need to prioritize. You might put “apply to colleges” on a long-term to-do list, which will involve many different smaller activities. The simple act of breaking it down, though, will simplify and demystify the process.
Alternatively, if it helps you to have everything in one place, you might consider creating an over-all to-do of home chores and responsibilities, work commitments, and things necessary for your social life. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, it can help to have everything juxtaposed with everything else, to let you start seeing the importance of individual tasks compared with others. [2] X Trustworthy Source Harvard Business Review Online and print journal covering topics related to business management practices Go to source
Alternatively, if everything is equally important and necessary, keep the list unordered and approach it alphabetically or randomly. As long as you’re actively ticking things off the list, all that matters is that you’re getting things done. Having a list in front of you with some items crossed off can help to ease some of your stress about getting things done.
If you’ve got an analog list on a piece of paper, hang it somewhere you’ll commonly look, like the refrigerator door or a bulletin board near the front door, or your office wall. Alternatively, you might keep a list on your desktop open while you work on other things, so you can keep it fresh in your mind and delete the items when you finish them. Post-it notes make for great around-the-house reminders. If you put a Post-it reminding you to work on your paper on the television screen, you’ll remember to do what’s important instead of wasting time doing something less productive.
Decide on a few different levels, maybe three, to rank the different tasks and criteria on your list. High, medium, and low importance tasks might be the best and simplest way to start ranking the importance of things on your list. Be judicious in deciding. You can also use colors to rank the items on your list. For example, you could use red to identify important or high priority items on your list, orange for items of medium importance, and yellow for items that are not pressing at all.
It’s important to consider the length of time it takes you to accomplish each of the tasks, maybe even assigning a set time to certain things. If you consider it a priority to exercise every day, but you’ve got a crazy amount of work to do, give yourself an exercise cap of 30 minutes and find somewhere to fit it in.
It might be effective to use levels like Difficult, Moderate, and Easy to rank them, rather than trying to judge them in relation to one another. Don’t worry about putting them in order before you’ve given each item its own rating, if it’s helpful to do so.
Alternatively, you can look for projects from multiple lists that might be effectively combined. While it may not be a great idea to try to review your math notes and write your history paper at the same time, you might be able to sit at the laundromat and wait for your clothes to dry while studying, saving time getting important tasks finished. [3] X Trustworthy Source American Psychological Association Leading scientific and professional organization of licensed psychologists Go to source Try to do your most important or challenging tasks when you’re most energized. [4] X Expert Source Colleen Campbell, PhD, PCCCareer & Life Coach Expert Interview. 28 March 2019.
It’s ok to decide something just isn’t worth the time, or that delegating a task at a cost outweighs the time you might spend on it. You could buy new expensive fence wire, or you could salvage your own by combing through the junkyard painstakingly, sifting through rough scrap for several hours in the hot sun, but if it only turns out to be a few bucks of savings, it might be more worth it to buy new wire.
Your English essay might be more important than your math homework, but if you really hate math, get it out of the way first so you can clear out all the time you need to devote solely to the essay, giving it your full, unfettered attention.
