5 Hacks to Prioritize Your Time

We all have 24 hours a day, but sometimes we need more time to complete essential tasks. When you are running a business, there always needs to be more time. However, proper time management can get a lot done in less time. You only need to understand how to work smarter, especially now that we live in a digital world full of distractions.

Write Everything Down

You’ve heard most people say that if you want to accomplish your goals, you must write them down. While this might sound a bit cliche, neuroscience tells us that writing down your goals is an effective strategy associated with goal success. Research shows that you’re more likely to accomplish your goals when you write them down.

Most people will think it’s a lot of work to write goals down or a tiresome activity. However, it’s worth noting that your mind can only keep up with some of the day’s tasks and activities. As a result, writing down your goals helps keep you informed about what to do. Think about the most important tasks you want to complete by the end of the day and write them down on paper. Categorize tasks based on priority and get things done accordingly.

Mark Twain noted, “Eat a live frog first thing in the morning, and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.” This means you should aim to accomplish the most challenging task first in the morning. Doing this gives you ample time to work on other tasks. You’ll be more productive; the best part is that you’ll feel good about yourself.

Set SMART Goals

How you start the week determines what you’ll achieve at the end of the week. Of course, focusing on one day at a time is necessary, but you must plan your week. Setting SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timely) goals helps to ensure you focus on the most critical tasks.

Spend time on Friday evening to evaluate your weekly performance. What did you achieve? How well did you manage your time? What are some of the distractions you overcame? Analyze your performance and plan how you will accomplish your goals in the coming week.

Another great tip to boost your performance is scheduling low-priority tasks for Monday evenings. Since you may feel sluggish on Monday evenings, you should do the less demanding tasks. Work on demanding tasks early in the morning since you’re more productive and energetic during this time. Strive to complete the more challenging jobs in the middle of the week so you’ll have more time to work on other tasks before the weekends.

Use the Pomodoro Technique

Success leaves clues, right? Well, there’s no better way to prioritize your time than using the Pomodoro time management technique developed by Francesco Cirillo in the 80s. This time management technique is simple and easy to implement. With this time management approach, you’ll learn how to eliminate distractions and use your time wisely.

A Pomodoro is a 25-minute work sprint, where you set a timer to focus on one activity for 25 minutes before taking a 5-minute break. So, once you set your goals and want to work on a particular activity, set a timer for 25 minutes and eliminate all distractions. When this session ends, take a 5-minute break and resume working. Complete four Pomodoros and take a 15–30 minute break.

These 25-minute work sprints help to prevent distractions from getting in the way of accomplishing tasks. You’ll get more work done within the shortest time possible. One of the main benefits of this time management approach is that it helps break down big tasks into smaller, manageable ones.

Cut Down Working Hours

It would be best if you cut down your working hours to ensure you prioritize your time. According to Parkinson’s Law, work often extends to fill the time you allotted to complete it. In other words, people will take more hours to complete tasks and only complete projects right before the deadline. Everyone had found themselves rushing to beat the deadline when they had a week to complete a small project. Instead of allocating the whole week to complete a task, cut down this time to two or three days. You’ll want to push yourself to hit the deadline, giving you more time to work on other tasks.

Stretch your limits and push yourself to get comfortable with discomfort. Using less time to do more work will make you more efficient and productive. Remember, your body and brain will always want to take the path with the least effort. You must push yourself to do what the required and complete the tasks on your to-do list.