How to Set Priorities: Daily, Weekly, and Beyond
By: Kate Lollar
In a 24/7 world, things are always changing – including priorities! Your priorities aren’t independent of each other, or of others’ to-do lists , or the world at large. Take this blog post itself as an example. I deprioritized writing to spend more time resting (and eating) over the holidays. Both of those activities were more urgent and important at the time. But like all priorities, the blog post draft made its way to the top of my list in due time.
Speaking of due time, let’s get right to it. Here are seven effective strategies for setting priorities for your daily, weekly, and long-term endeavors.
Acknowledge due dates and set “to-do” dates.
Every task eventually has a due date or it will be very difficult to prioritize. Assign a due date!
Your to-do date is the day you do the task. Ideally this precedes the due date. In other words, if it’s due tomorrow morning, you should probably do it today.
Categorize urgent and important tasks.
Prioritize tasks based on urgency, followed by importance, and then address whatever items remain.
Figure out how much time you really have.
Distinguish between soft and hard deadlines.
Recognize hard stops like end-of-day (EOD) or end-of-week (EOW) commitments.
Account for unmovable events and holidays when planning your schedule.
Remember other people.
Consider the impact of your tasks on others.
Establish a review process and identify dependencies.
Do you need something from someone else to do this properly? Consider that, too.
Write it down (or type it up).
Matching up the hours you have with the hours you need is the key!
Book tasks into your calendar just as you do meetings, using labels such as “focus time” or “writing time,” to help visualize how much time you need and have total in a day.
Calendars, planners and lists can all be your friends.
Anything that can help you visualize your time and the time you need to complete tasks is a worthwhile tool for effective prioritization. This may include project management software (like Trello, Monday, or Asana) as well.
I recommend a detailed Gmail calendar and a monthly wall calendar to everyone. Gmail can include everything, while your wall calendar focuses on events, holidays, and personal/family things. A wall calendar isn’t the place for day-to-day work tasks.
Personally, I also use a daily/weekly planner because having a physical to-do list is crucial to my workflow (and if you are neurodivergent, you probably know what I’m talking about).
But if you are next gen and/or otherwise able to manage all your priorities digitally, that’s probably your best bet. Physical planners can cause problems, like not having your calendar there when you need it, having to lug around extra stuff, or… losing your planner (agh!). But I digress.
In my planner, I write tasks in larger or smaller sizes, depending on level of urgency and importance. Doodles are encouraged. Creativity makes planning more fun and can help quickly find your task on a full page. Highlighters are a big help on paper, too, especially for daily tasks and things that spill over to the next day.
Color coding your responsibilities into groups (i.e. clients, teams, internal, urgent, etc.) is also helpful to view things at a glance. You can color-code digitally or by hand.
Don’t commit to too many different calendars or systems, and start with the ones you’re required to use first.
Revisit your to-do list every day, week, month, and year.
Adjust priorities as needed based on changing circumstances.
Daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly reviews ensure continuous alignment with your goals.
Plan ahead. Every Friday, look ahead to the next week and plot out your priorities. Near the end of each month and year, do the same.
When implemented successfully, these strategies will help you navigate the ever-shifting landscape of priorities, increase your productivity, and enjoy better overall work-life balance. Happy planning!
