A to-do list is key in bringing about structure to your day. Yet without prioritization, you may not be able to maximize your productivity.
It is inevitable that some tasks are more important or require more urgent attention than others and it is essential to acknowledge this. Even simply numbering your checklist in order of importance is such a quick but useful thing to do. As without a doubt, some days we may not be able to complete our checklist for whatever reason and therefore by prioritizing you have at least checked off the most important things at the beginning of your day. As opposed to checking off lots of small and not as urgent tasks, which would induce a false-sense of productivity. It is a far better use of your time to complete smaller yet urgent and important tasks than lots of tasks, which can wait. In this sense, LESS IS MORE!
It is also useful to prioritize your hardest tasks as you have the most energy during the day. Albeit, by putting off your tasks until the end of the day, you may be too burnt out and fatigued to even start on those hardest tasks. With that being said, you can even treat getting your hardest tasks 'out of the way' as a reward system. Start off your day with your hardest task or subject and reward yourself by doing some work on a subject you prefer or find more enjoyable. Additionally, the stark contrast between your harder task or subject and your more enjoyable task, will make your preferred task even more enjoyable in comparison. Thus, you will not feel as tired doing work later in the day as you would hopefully derive even more pleasure from your preferred subject.
Moreover, you can use the Eisenhower Matrix to help you decide on how to prioritize tasks by urgency and importance and thus helping you decide which tasks to delegate and which to not even do at all.
This method prioritizes tasks in 4 quadrants with different strategies:
The first quadrant is the DO FIRST quadrant as getting it done or not, will determine how your life will look down the line. This includes any homework or tasks set to you by your school or educational institution. You should aim to get these tasks done immediately within the day or at most by the next day. To help you concentrate on these tasks, use a timer and try to get as much of it done as possible within that time. Using the tomato time technique may also be helpful here. The next time you do do work, put your timer on for 25 minutes and make sure to be DISTRACTION FREE! Then give yourself a small 5 minute break to reward yourself and to recharge before the next tomato time.
The second quadrant is the SCHEDULE quadrant. These are the tasks, which are important but not urgent. This could include an extra piece of work, which you want to do to solidify your learning but it is not as urgent as that piece of coursework or homework due the next morning. All as well, it is still important and therefore set aside a time to complete this task. It is important to note when exactly you will complete this task - BE AS SPECIFIC AS YOU CAN! Try to know the exact date and time period within that day that you will do this task and also physically make a note of this. Whether this be on your phone, planner or even a sticky-note. Writing it down somewhere almost forces you to commit to this action instead of making a mental note of something that you probably will forget.
The third quadrant is the DELEGATE quadrant. This is when a task is not as important to you but still urgent. An example of this would be a friend asking you to help them with a topic that they find tricky. As much as you would like to help them there may be some important tasks, which require your immediate attention. Instead delegate this responsibility by perhaps suggesting a more suitable person for the job or referring them to a source (i.e. a website or your teacher), which will give them the necessary information to deal with the matter.
The fourth quadrant is the ELIMINATE quadrant. If it is not important and not urgent, then to simply put it... DON'T DO IT. This may include some poor habits like excessively using social media, playing too many video games or finding yourself in a rabbit hole of YouTube videos. If this is a task, which you actively do and hinders your ability to complete the important 1st and 2nd quadrant tasks, then do not do it. As much as you would like to do these tasks than to complete an assignment, the benefits in the long-term are far more rewarding than the transient pleasure you derive from these bad habits. SHORT-TERM PAIN, LONG TERM-GAIN!
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