A Simple Prioritization Tool That Is a Game Changer
Top Five Daily Priority Exercise
The Top FIVE Priority List forces you to focus in on your micro-planning while keeping the bigger picture in mind. I developed this tool for myself when I noticed how susceptible I was to sitting down at my desk in the morning and utilizing email as my guide for what got my attention. Regardless of what larger goals I had on my radar for the day, once I dove into email, I would quickly use an hour (or sometimes more) tackling correspondence or tasks that were not on my radar before that moment. Then I would spend the rest of the day playing catch up while trying to fend off all the negative self talk telling me how I had such a terrible handle on my schedule and had too much to do with the time I had. Can you relate?
Top Five Priority List was born out of my necessity to guide my focus each day and to give me a visual reminder of what I have committed to for the day. The process includes prioritizing the most critical tasks for the following day, before the end of your work day. It supports you in clearing your mind, making choices about how you plan to use your time and force ranking your tasks. Our brains love it when we narrow in our focus and build lists of 5 to 7 items (same reasons memorizing phone numbers works so well!). So do yourself a favor and try this version of micro-prioritizing and see what you learn about yourself and your schedule. But fair warning, you have to follow the steps for it to work. NO SHORTCUTS!
Follow These Steps:
Block out the last 20 minutes of each work day to create your TOP FIVE PRIORITIES list. When you are just getting started its important that this be a hard copy list, not digital.
Dedicate a separate notepad for this purpose – ideally small – you don’t need it to fit much (there are some very reasonable ones at Office Depot and some very badass and beautiful ones at HeydayBozeman.com and Tartique.com)
Start by listing 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 vertically, down the top 2/3 of the page.
Draw a line under the top 5 (you will use the bottom 1/3 of the page to list any additional action items beyond your top 5.)
Review your calendar, emails (still needing attention) and any other task lists you have.
Build your TOP FIVE for the next day, based on what is most critical.
Try to list the most critical tasks at the top of your list. It is possible, based on the time certain tasks take, that you may only have a Top 2 or Top 3 for any given day. You just can’t have more than 5.
To the right of each priority, add the block of time you will attempt to complete the task
At the end of the following day, review the TOP FIVE list and your other resources (listed above) and build a fresh list, following the same steps as above.
When you enter your workspace in the morning, resist the urge to open your email and allow outside influences to shift your priorities right out of the gate. Anchor yourself in your priorities by keeping your notepad on top of your laptop or keyboard.
Start there and see how it goes! I recommend using this process daily for three full weeks and see what you learn about your time management, realistic estimates of what you can get done in a day, where you procrastinate, etc.
Good luck!
If you have questions or get stuck along the way, reach out!
@klumconsulting / klumconsulting@gmail.com /
