by Maria Papadopoulou

Created on: August 14, 2010

Many people have great trouble organizing their time. They tend to miss deadlines, forget about tasks and have to do everything at the last minute, only because they do not know how to make the most of their time. Those  who fail to organize their time effectively can be helped significantly by learning to set priorities. By setting priorities you have a solid plan in your hands, ready to be used at any given time.

How to better organize your time by setting priorities

1. Think it terms of emergency

Those tasks that need to be delivered by the end of the day, should be completed first. Level of difficulty, time for research and technical problems that may come up should not influence you negatively and prevent you from working on those tasks. View those things as challenges that can make your work more interesting and help you prove your worth. Only when you  finish these particular tasks should you proceed with other, less urgent tasks. Set a specific time framewithin which you will be able to complete those tasks. if you think you will need a deadline extension, ask for it hours in advance and not at the last minute.

2. Think in terms of  difficulty

After finishing the most urgent tasks, it is time to work on the most difficult tasks. Before starting, decide on the specific time you will need for research and going through details. Start with the most difficult task and do your best to finish not just within that specific time frame, but sooner, if that is possible. Think of your deadline as your last chance to deliver your work. Your aim should be to deliver your work before that. That way, you will motivate yourself to work faster and get things done sooner.

3. Alternatives

Having alternatives can save you both time and energy on many occasions. For every plan you make, have an alternative,back-up plan ready in case something goes wrong. Without a back-up plan, you will need a lot of time to come up with a solution to a problem and as a result , you may miss deadlines. Having alternatives should be high on your priority list.

3.Leave post-it notes everywhere

If you strive to meet many obligations within the day, forgetting some of them is only natural. To prevent the worst from happening, get into the habit of leaving post-it notes everywhere, to remind yourself of what you need to do. This should be another one of your priorities when trying to organize your time better. Imagine all the time you will lose trying to remember what you need to do at any given moment.

The above tips will hopefully help you organize your time better by setting priorities.

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