It’s a Priority: Three Questions to Ask Yourself in Prioritizing Your To-Do List

We often talk about the importance of to-do lists coupled with daily planning and how they can help you stay organized and productive every day. One step of this process is the prioritization of tasks and activities included on your to-do list. Sounds like a fairly simple and straightforward process, right? Oftentimes, it is just that; however, such prioritization can be a difficult and even daunting task in itself. Unless you’re dealing with a check-off or sub-list of your major to-do’s—such as a grocery list of individual items needed or any other non-action oriented list—the items you’re dealing with are actually short-term goals. Being such gives a lot more leverage and importance to the prioritization process.

In order to arrange these short-term goals into a logical and productive order, ask yourself the following questions about each item:

1. Is the completion of this task vital to an upcoming activity or event?

2. If the task isn’t completed, will it have a negative impact on another task/event or be comprised in any way?

3. Are any resources that are needed to complete the task only available today?

If any of your items on your to-do list receive a “yes” to all of these questions, they are your top priorities for the day. Most likely, these items will be characterized as large and difficult. This is no surprise—it’s in many of our natures to put off a few more difficult tasks and instead focus on knocking out a larger number of small but easy tasks. While it’s a great feeling checking off a lot of items on your daily to-do list, you’re doing yourself a disservice by working this way. Setting priorities is a must-do if you want to assure yourself of an organized and productive day ahead. Give this system a try—or share with us your own prioritization tips and methods. Simply visit and “like” our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/dayrunner and let us know what works (and doesn’t work) for you. About Day Runner At Day Runner, our mission is to assist people in “designing their day” with a touch of fashion and function. Many products can be configured for individual planning needs. Our loose-leaf day planners allow users the flexibility to easily select the page formats and style that they like and put them where they need those most. Our products are available from many office product retailers and dealers nationwide and can also be found in office supply catalogs. For more information or to order your planning and organizing tools, visit www.dayrunner.com.