In the exceedingly frantic and fast-paced career world, determining what deserves attention first can be hard and overwhelming.
This is when prioritising comes in handy for it helps in proper planning and organising of your work depending on what is really important and what matters most.
Dr Opiyo Andala, the dean, School of Education at Mount Kenya University says at times variety of tasks at our workplace can become overwhelming, making many employees not able to handle the stress which sometimes ends up affecting their productivity in general.
In such cases, he says the skill of prioritisation becomes a handy tool as it allows one to plan their daily activities to create the right value.
In the process of prioritising, Andala explains "It allows one to make informed decisions about what they need to do, what you don’t need to do, and when you need to focus on certain tasks.
"This is key to effective responsibility management, especially if you are working on the right tasks. It also helps one to focus on important tasks which enables them to work with full attention and focus, thus ensuring more productivity and efficiency,” he says.
Although this skill isn’t as easy as it may seem or sound, Alphonse Uworwabayeho, a lecturer of mathematics at University of Rwanda’s College of Education says what is needed is to always identify which things need to be done first.
He says that this is a crucial process, but once one gets used to it, organising and planning will be less difficult and that through this, one is able to learn how to be more efficient and productive.
Uworwabayeho says that we can’t talk about priority without mentioning time management. Here, he explains that time management is essential in achieving goals and getting your work done.
With time management, he says organising, planning, and prioritising, are all important.
"When you manage your time well, it means one can carry out their work in an organised way. They also have strong strategies for completing a given task in a short span of time as well as be aware of their priorities,” he says.
When it comes to the importance of prioritising your work, Andala says it makes a person more efficient at daily work-related activities, but also gives them the courage to focus on their personal goals.
Besides, it also helps strike the right balance to handle both one’s professional and personal life. It also helps reduce stress and helps one focus more on important things.
On top of this, Jacky Iribagiza, a matron and counsellor at Marty’s school in Remera says prioritising things helps with work-life balance as one is able to create better boundaries for their workday.
She says that once one knows how to prioritise their tasks and time, they realise that much of the work that felt urgent doesn’t really need their attention at that particular moment.
How to go about it
Andala says the first thing one should do after arriving at work is make sure they come up with a working list, as well as keep off from unnecessary tasks that tend to take up their time.
He says this can be planned on a daily or weekly basis depending on the nature of work one has or does.
To avoid dwelling on unnecessary work, he advises that one should try to analyse what is really important.
"It’s important as well to come up with your own deadline different from what your supervisor has set. This should however not be rushed through rather; taking everything one step at a time is important and ensures you deliver productive work,” he says.
Uworwabayeho says there is also a need to find a way of working on emergent cases first in case there is any before embarking on what is important.
"Working on tasks that need immediate attention is important because it saves you from the negative impact on your company or business if they are not tackled on time,” he adds.
Being flexible is also important when it comes to prioritising work, keeping in mind that change is certain and also, being prepared for work that will come above your set order of priorities is important.