How to Prioritize Your To-Do List
It’s easy to set goals. It’s even easier to plan, but when it comes to executing and prioritizing our to-do list, that’s where a lot of us fall short. We’re great dreamers. We’re great planners, but what we lack is strategy. This is why so many people get caught up in the planning phase.
As I mentioned in a previous post, goals create a deliberate focus to help you carry out your God-given purpose, but a lot of us can’t seem to move past this initial goal setting stage. We’re off dreaming these magnanimous, illustrious dreams and we’re getting caught up in the bigger picture instead of making the dream actionable and attainable. In order to accomplish your goals, you must break them down into daily actionable tasks and then learn how to prioritize them. I use this method every week to plan out my goal-oriented action steps, and I also use it with my coaching clients to help them get things done. Use these tips to prioritize and execute your to-do list too.
"Learn how to prioritize & execute your to-do list."
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Create a master list.
Every Sunday I sit down and do a brain dump of everything that I need to do to accomplish my goals for the week. Regardless if the goals are related to Fearfully Fashioned, work, school, or my personal life, I write them all down. I tend to do this with a pen and paper, so I can then go on to categorize my list.
Categorize your list.
After I create my master list, I break it down into categories based on the goals I’m working toward. For example, I have weekly goals to work on for Fearfully Fashioned, my master’s program, and my personal life. Create categories for your list that are applicable to your life.
Prioritize urgent tasks.
Once I’ve categorized my list, I will go back and prioritize each task under each category. A lot of the times we aren’t making any progress because we’re focused on meaningless tasks instead of the crucial ones.
Choose 3 daily tasks only.
It’s impossible to get every single thing on your to-do list done every single day, and it can be defeating a massive list is glaring back at you. I like to pick three tasks a day (one from each category) to focus on. That way I’m not overwhelmed to complete my list, and if I have more time than expected, I can do more.
Do the hardest thing first.
Start each day by doing the most taxing task first. This will help you beat procrastination and boost productivity to get things done. Once the hardest thing is out of the way, you can sail through the rest of your to-do list.
To-do lists are the most useful and powerful when they are prioritized and succinct. In order to help you execute your goals and list, I have created a To-Do List Organizer to help you prioritize your daily tasks. Click the button below to download yours for free. **(Please Note: If you're on my email list, this printable is available in the Resource Closet) **
How do you like to organize your to-do list? Tell me in the comments below.
