6 Prioritization Tools To 2x Your Productivity

[Edition #16] [3 min read]

Being “too busy” has become a socially acceptable excuse for any request.

Truth is, you’ll always be busy.

Being “busy” is not the issue.

The real issue is being busy with the wrong things & neglecting tasks that matter.

Rapidly checking each item off our to-do list makes us feel “busy”.

But does being “busy” equate to being productive? No.

Time is a limited resource; There is only so much one can do.

Learning how to effectively prioritize can ensure you get what you need to get done without getting burnt out.

Today, we’ll look at 7 prioritization tools to help you boost your productivity! ↓

👉️ Learning To Say No

When you say “yes” to everything, you risk spreading yourself too thin.

By learning when and where to say “no” you:

• Protect your time

• Focus on what truly matters

• Set clear boundaries - communicating your time & energy is valuable

• Avoid overcommitting

• Become more selective

Before jumping to the task, ask yourself questions.

Truly think it through.

👉️ Eisenhower Matrix

Developed by the 34th president of the U.S ., the Eisenhower Matrix helps to organize and prioritize tasks into 4 quadrants.

Divide your tasks into the 4 quadrants based on urgency & importance

• Q1: Tasks to schedule for later

• Q2: Tasks to do now!

• Q3: Tasks to delegate

• Q4: Tasks to delete

Then prioritize tasks in Q1 & Q2.

I love the visual aspect of this tool, seeing a blueprint of my priorities motivates me to complete them.

👉️ Deep Work Time Blocks

Prioritize meaningful work > urgent tasks

Multi-tasking is a myth

Instead, dedicate “chunks” of the day to focus on similar batched tasks.

This used in parallel with the Eisenhower Matrix is a productivity powerhouse.

It’s very simple to use. I like to do this on Sundays

• Make an Eisenhower Matrix of your tasks

• Plan chunks in your Calender

• Allocate blocks for breaks

• Be ready to adjust, sometimes schedules change

👉️ 2 - 2 - 1 Approach

This is great to use in a team setting.

Have everyone share using the 2-2-1 approach:

• 2 things they are focused on this week

• 2 things they plan to prioritize next week

• 1 thing they haven’t worked on yet

This gives more visibility to everyone’s workload including items that may need more clarity, delegated, or could be deleted altogether.

👉️ Pareto’s 80/20 Principle

Focus on the 20% of tasks that yield 80% of the results.

Instead of the other way around.

For example,

In business, a large portion of revenue may come from a small percentage of customers/products.

Knowing this, you’d want to target business strategies to the most impactful areas.

What this says is to focus on the most important tasks and prioritize our efforts accordingly.

Work Hard & Work Smart

👉️ Two-Minute Rule

“Just do it” - Nike

If a task will take you 2 minutes or less to complete get it done immediately

This prevents smaller tasks from accumulating to one big task over time

Climb Further

1. Deep Work by Cal Newport

2. Atomic Habits by James Clear is a must read

3. Ali Abdaal’s Youtube Channel

[Note: Not Sponsored]

Range Recap

Please share this edition to help others! ♻

Till next time, take care & stay well, my friend. 😊 

-Payal