By: Dr. Sanjay Kumar Agarwal, Sr. Associate Editor, ICN Group
(In some of the past articles, we knew about steps in preparing To-Do List. Today we will know about prioritisation of different tasks in your To-Do List)
Prioritisation of the different tasks according to your own energy levels
NOIDA: The old theory of prioritisation is giving priority to the tasks according to their importance and urgency. One more important criterion is prioritising according to your own ‘energy levels’ required for the task to be completed.
At our workplace, there are many tasks which demand high energy levels and there are many tasks which do not demand our high energy levels for completion. If we do high energy requirement tasks at the time when our energy level is maximum, our productivity will be enhanced. On the contrary, if we do easy tasks at start and leave high energy requirement tasks for later, we will find that at the end of the day, when we are not fully energised, those tasks will require more time for completion. Similarly, students can also take benefit of this concept. They tend to leave the difficult subject for later and they find that later it becomes more difficult to comprehend the subject when they are tired, physically & mentally.
Now let us see how we can take benefit of Pareto Principle in according priorities in different tasks.
The Pareto Principle
Pareto was an Italian economist in early 20th century. He observed that 80% of the nation’s wealth is owned by 20% of the people and remaining 20% of the nation’s wealth was owned by remaining 80% of the people. Over a period of time, this principal is being used universally and is called ‘Pareto Principle’ following its initial mentor.
It is observed that it applies in every walk of life. For example, you will observe that:
- 80% of a company’s sales is derived from 20% of its clients and 20% sales is derived from remaining 80%;
- 80% of the incoming emails bear only 20% value to you, or are actually worthless, and remaining 20% emails add 80% value;
- 80% of the time spent on telephone relates to only 20% of the persons talked with;
- 80% productivity is taken from 20% of the functions on your computer;
- 80% profits are generated out of 20% of your product line.
- …. and the list is never ending.
If you can understand this concept and start taking benefit of this concept by developing the habit of identifying the 20% tasks, which add 80% value to you, you will be a better organised and productive person. Here you must understand that often valuable works are difficult, but finishing these works, before you jump to less important works, is the key to higher productivity.
If you start doing difficult tasks first in the day, gradually it will become your habit and you will not become afraid of attending to difficult or unpleasant tasks in future also. Remember, biggest financial rewards will come to you, when you learn to prioritize and start spending most of your time on higher value activities.
You can apply this concept everywhere. For example, you can save time by organising your telephone/ mobile’s speed-dial list, so as to include those names, whom you call frequently; you can focus your attention on the reports, which are really useful for you or your organisation; your secretary can do the preliminary scrutiny of incoming emails, so that you need to go through only those mails, which need your personal attention; etc.
(In the next article, I will discuss about a very important concept – delegation. I believe that you are enjoying the journey towards the future of your dreams with me. If yes, please stay tuned. Happy G.O.P.T.A.)
Dr. Sanjay Kumar Agarwal, Creator & copyright holder of the concept G.O.P.T.A.© is an Author, Certified NLP Lifestyle Trainer, Strategic Interventionist, Corporate Trainer & Motivational Speaker ( http://bit.ly/Signature-Workshops-Sanjay-Kumar-Agarwal ) and recipient of Honorary Doctorate of Excellence (Management) by prestigious Young Scientist University, California, USA. He is Founder of ‘Read, Learn & Earn Movement’ and is popularly known among his fans & followers across the globe as ‘Time and Goal Guru’.
