5 Tips to Set Priorities

1. Use a paper-based, electronic or computerized list to keep track of your tasks, instead of relying on your memory. A list will give you a clear idea of what you need to accomplish.
2. Which tasks could you handle another day? If you would face no consequences by moving a task forward, move it ahead another day or another week.
3. Know the difference between important and urgent. Important means a task needs to be done while urgent means it must be done immediately. Knowing the difference between the two will make prioritizing easier.
4. Realize that you can't do everything. This will help you to realistically prioritize your tasks.
5. Determine if postponing the task would affect other projects you are working on. Tasks and projects can have a domino effect. If you do one task, yet fail to do another, you may have wasted effort on the first task.

Brought to you by SCORE "Counselors to America's Small Business."