HOW TO PRIORITIZE WORK

When you have your own business, there are a lot of things to take care of and make sure they get done.  How do you go about it?  You should set priorities.

Prioritizing activities that need to be done can seem like a huge task all by itself.  But it will really help in the long run.  If you put in a little extra time and effort, it will make your life easier and your business will run smoother.  Here are some tips.

Daily "to do" list - some people find it helpful to start each day with a written list of activities that need to be done, prioritized in order of importance.  You can write this out manually or keep track of it with a computer program.  The key if to have a list in writing that will keep you on track as you go throughout your day.

Delegate - look over your list and determine if there are any activities on it that can be delegated to your employees (if you have employees).  Another option is outsourcing.  If your business is not big enough to hire employees yet, outsourcing is a great idea.  This simply means hiring someone to do a project for you.

Break Big Tasks down - If you have a large project, try breaking it down into smaller bite size pieces.  Then determine which ones you need to do, and which ones you might be able to outsource or delegate to someone else.

Once you have a list of tasks you need to do, it is time to prioritize them.  If there is a deadline that comes with some of the activities, start there.  They should come first.

Then look at the other tasks and assess how they affect the big picture of your business.  If they are not that crucial they can be moved lower on the list.

Sometimes, you may benefit by changing the way you handle a task.  For example, if you have quite a few face-to-face meetings, consider replacing some of them with phone calls.  It may be just as effective in getting the job done, and will save you time.

It is helpful to prioritize because, if there are tasks left undone at the end of the day, it will be the less critical ones that you can carry them over to the next day without much consequence.

Click here for a checklist to help you prioritize your business tasks.