Prioritizing Your Day: Which Task Should I Do First?

 
 
 
 
Prioritizing means being able to differentiate between tasks that seem important and tasks that will actually have a long-term effect.

So you have arrived at your desk; you know you’ve got your to-do list around here somewhere — oh, there it is — and now: where do you start?

If you’re like most people, you start with the task on your list that seems the most enjoyable, or, you start with a task that’s not even on your list, but rather, some “fire” that someone has brought to you — in email, phone, or in person — asking you to put out.

Sounds familiar, yes?

Look, the truth is, that prioritizing your day is easier — much, much easier — when you have a couple of basic rules.

I encourage you to take a look at your list
through the lens of revenue,
and start prioritizing your tasks based on what you see.”

Last week, I suggested that one smart place to begin is by tackling the task on your list that has been sitting there the longest. The idea is, that the sense of accomplishment you get from knocking a dusty-old task off your list first thing in the morning, becomes rocket fuel to help propel you through a terrifically productive day!

And you know what? It works!

However, there is another option for kickstarting your day productively, and that is choosing first that single task from your long list that is the most potentially revenue-producing.

Revenue-Producing Activities

The reason we have lists is because we have a goal. That goal is usually to succeed, and one of the barometers by which we measure our success is — you guessed it — revenue.

I encourage you to take a look at your list through the lens of revenue, and start prioritizing your tasks based on what you see.

When it comes to our to-do lists, sometimes we can lose focus by working though the list items in the order they were written, or some other arbitrary method, rather than thinking about why they are on the list. By focusing on a revenue-producing activity first, you will remind yourself of one of the primary reasons you arrived at your desk in the first place!

Direct or Indirect Revenue

Sometimes a list-item will jump out at you as potentially profitable.

For instance, sending out an invoice to a client has an obvious dollar amount attached to it, or depositing the check at the bank (hey, don’t laugh; when I help my friends or colleagues get their offices organized, I have discovered more un-cashed checks stuffed in the back of desk drawers than you would possibly believe).

However, usually, revenue-producing tasks are not so obvious. Tasks such as sending out a resume, writing a hand-written thank you note, or returning a faulty item to the office supply store — these are potentially revenue-producing activities, too!

Basically, any activity that asks or encourages others to refer you clients or customers, is potentially revenue-producing.

The Exhilaration of Task Prioritizing

Remember, once you have completed that first task in a deliberate, strategic, and conscious way, you will have begun your day with a profitable action step — and this is energizing!

Knowing that you’ve already “made it rain” in the morning will give a real boost to your day, and give your working-life more vigor. In time you will notice a sense of satisfaction, achievement and, yes, increased profitability!

 
 
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