How to Prioritize Important Work to Get It Done Quickly

02 January 2024

The time you have will never be enough to complete all the work assigned to you. This is a problem for almost everyone no matter where they work. The best step to solve this is to prioritize only important work.

If you just write everything down in a to-do list, you'll just have a long list. You also look at the factors that influence the work so you can see the urgency in it.

Work Prioritization Techniques

You don't need to be stuck with a pile of work. Actually there is only a small part that needs to be completed now. The rest can be done tomorrow or even next week. Others can even be delegated to other people because the work is not really for you.

That's the technique of prioritizing work. You can see the work from the level of difficulty and the length of time it takes to complete it so it must be done more quickly. You can also look at the deadlines given.

The next step is to choose techniques and ways of prioritizing work that are appropriate to the situation you are experiencing. That way, you can complete all the work with minimal anxiety.

How to Prioritize Important Work

Check the explanation regarding how to prioritize work so that it can be completed on time.

1. Priority matrix

This technique divides jobs into four different groups. You can create four boxes with matrices X (horizontal) and Y (vertical). Next, determine the job level in each matrix.

For example, you can fill in X in terms of urgency and Y in terms of the level of importance or not that the work is completed. Later you will have four different types of work, namely:

  • Important and urgent work
  • Important work, but not urgent
  • Urgent work, but not important
  • Work that is not important and not urgent

This matrix will let you know what needs to be done first and what can be postponed.

2. ABCDE method

This method was popularized by Brian Tracy, author of the book Eat That Frog. You just need to provide value to each job. Here are the levels in alphabetical order:

  • A is work that must be done
  • B is the work that should be done
  • C is a job that seems good if done
  • D is work that should be delegated to someone else
  • E is work that should be eliminated or not done

Start doing jobs from A to C. Give job D to someone else and throw away the jobs that don't belong in your life.

3. MoSCoW method

Similar to other prioritization techniques, you need to assign the letters M, S, C, and W to each job you have. The following is an explanation of each embedded alphabet.

  • M—must do is work that must be completed right now
  • S—should do is work that should be completed, but can be postponed for now
  • C—could do is a job that is good if done, but not a problem if abandoned
  • W—won't do is work that is not worth doing.

4. Ivy Lee Method

This method is simple enough that many people seem to be able to apply it. You only need to set aside time after completing all the work today. After that, choose the six most important tasks to complete tomorrow.

Next you just have to complete each job from 1 to six. To make it easier for you, try to set a working time duration or use time blocking. During this time, make sure you ignore the distractions that come your way to complete the work.

5. 1-3-9 Technique

This technique allows you to focus on the most important work. On the other hand, you are also freed up to do other tasks that don't seem very important. This technique is a combination of MoSCoW and Ivy Lee.

In one day, you can choose 13 tasks to complete with the following details.

  • One of the most important tasks
  • Three tasks that are not very important and can be postponed after the important work is finished
  • Nine tasks that are fun enough for you to do once all the work is done.

This technique will ensure you complete the most important work first before looking at other work. The three tasks in number two and the nine tasks can be completed sequentially or randomly.

However, it requires analytical skills to see the important work to use all the techniques above. Next, you just have to choose what kind of technique to help complete all the work.

The time you have will never be enough to complete all the work assigned to you. This is a problem for almost everyone no matter where they work. The best step to solve this is to prioritize only important work.

If you just write everything down in a to-do list, you'll just have a long list. You also look at the factors that influence the work so you can see the urgency in it.

Work Prioritization Techniques

You don't need to be stuck with a pile of work. Actually there is only a small part that needs to be completed now. The rest can be done tomorrow or even next week. Others can even be delegated to other people because the work is not really for you.

That's the technique of prioritizing work. You can see the work from the level of difficulty and the length of time it takes to complete it so it must be done more quickly. You can also look at the deadlines given.

The next step is to choose techniques and ways of prioritizing work that are appropriate to the situation you are experiencing. That way, you can complete all the work with minimal anxiety.

How to Prioritize Important Work

Check the explanation regarding how to prioritize work so that it can be completed on time.

1. Priority matrix

This technique divides jobs into four different groups. You can create four boxes with matrices X (horizontal) and Y (vertical). Next, determine the job level in each matrix.

For example, you can fill in X in terms of urgency and Y in terms of the level of importance or not that the work is completed. Later you will have four different types of work, namely:

  • Important and urgent work
  • Important work, but not urgent
  • Urgent work, but not important
  • Work that is not important and not urgent

This matrix will let you know what needs to be done first and what can be postponed.

2. ABCDE method

This method was popularized by Brian Tracy, author of the book Eat That Frog. You just need to provide value to each job. Here are the levels in alphabetical order:

  • A is work that must be done
  • B is the work that should be done
  • C is a job that seems good if done
  • D is work that should be delegated to someone else
  • E is work that should be eliminated or not done

Start doing jobs from A to C. Give job D to someone else and throw away the jobs that don't belong in your life.

3. MoSCoW method

Similar to other prioritization techniques, you need to assign the letters M, S, C, and W to each job you have. The following is an explanation of each embedded alphabet.

  • M—must do is work that must be completed right now
  • S—should do is work that should be completed, but can be postponed for now
  • C—could do is a job that is good if done, but not a problem if abandoned
  • W—won't do is work that is not worth doing.

4. Ivy Lee Method

This method is simple enough that many people seem to be able to apply it. You only need to set aside time after completing all the work today. After that, choose the six most important tasks to complete tomorrow.

Next you just have to complete each job from 1 to six. To make it easier for you, try to set a working time duration or use time blocking. During this time, make sure you ignore the distractions that come your way to complete the work.

5. 1-3-9 Technique

This technique allows you to focus on the most important work. On the other hand, you are also freed up to do other tasks that don't seem very important. This technique is a combination of MoSCoW and Ivy Lee.

In one day, you can choose 13 tasks to complete with the following details.

  • One of the most important tasks
  • Three tasks that are not very important and can be postponed after the important work is finished
  • Nine tasks that are fun enough for you to do once all the work is done.

This technique will ensure you complete the most important work first before looking at other work. The three tasks in number two and the nine tasks can be completed sequentially or randomly.

However, it requires analytical skills to see the important work to use all the techniques above. Next, you just have to choose what kind of technique to help complete all the work.

Prasetiya Mulya Executive Learning Institute
Prasetiya Mulya Cilandak Campus, Building 2, #2203
Jl. R.A Kartini (TB. Simatupang), Cilandak Barat, Jakarta 12430
Indonesia
Prasetiya Mulya Executive Learning Institute
Prasetiya Mulya Cilandak Campus, Building 2, #2203
Jl. R.A Kartini (TB. Simatupang), Cilandak Barat,
Jakarta 12430
Indonesia