How to set Priorities for Day Tasks and Life: A 5-minute Guide to the fulfillment

The world is obsessed with progress and so do you. But you wonder how to complete all the work that you find necessary.

Everyone is running and no one seems to stop any sooner. You want to slow down but if you do so you find yourself lagging behind the people that surround you at work and those in the neighborhood.

You know that beauty is in the art of living where you have time for yourself, for nature, and your loved ones. Despite knowing all this you find yourself in constant need to keep up with fast pacing world to stay relevant in the dynamic environment that you live in. The list of work that we are supposed to do seems as if it is designed for an emotionless and lifeless automatic machine performing tasks left and right.

This problem is faced by every other person on this planet. You and me.

You know that the way to overcome the problem is to set priorities right. You have done it in the past and you are doing it in the present but the problem does not seem to be abated and the question still looms in your mind.

The answer lies in “How”, How do we re-engineer our priorities to make our life easy and fulfilled?

The procedure can run in pages but I value my reader’s time and will not exceed 5 minutes as I have promised in the article’s heading.

Things that have less actual value and more nuisance value should be done first.

First of all, it is important to ensure the environment where your output is recognized and appreciated. Remember the occasions when despite doing things the right way you have made yourself look like a fool in front of your boss. In every workplace, some things have the capacity to create a huge volume of nuisance and these things rarely have any actual value. These are mostly outdated routine activities that have been followed from time unknown without a re-evaluation. And there are authorities whose checklist only contains the completion of these tasks.

I have learned from my experience these nuisance-creating tasks should be completed first then only we should move to real work. Although they do not have any actual value, they are always urgent. And not so for value output but to maintain your peace of mind which will help you concentrate on your work.

If you know about these tasks at your workplace, tell me about them in the comment.

Work it in order of decreasing urgency and not in order of your liking towards it.

We often pick up the works we like doing most irrespective of its urgency and importance. Remember yourself starting a long chat session with your college friends when an urgent assignment was to be submitted on the same day. Or surfing through an online shopping app while a deal needed an immediate closure.

You tend to feel better by engaging in a task that does not challenge your authority and comfort zone. However, the tasks that do so are long pending on your list and therefore came to the point of immediate attention.

When prioritizing tasks, it is important to focus on their urgency and importance rather than their level of difficulty.

If it takes less than 5 minutes, do it now (Some say it 2 minutes, I practice the rule of 5)

You come across several tasks that need not more than 5 minutes of your time but you keep on postponing them to the end of your day thinking of doing them in a go. By doing so you increase the number of tasks that you need to perform when you think that it is time to leave.

Further, as these tasks require your attention for a short period, they become urgent even in a shorter period disturbing your work at the bigger tasks.

These tiny tasks can be related to work or also to you personally. Remember, how many times you skip standing up and walking to a glass of water and kept yourself seated for hours together? This required a little time but was important.

This happens in your life too. We are more concerned about tasks such as groceries, bills, weekend plans, etc (I am not saying they are not important). But what about tiny acts of love and bonding? Today, ask your partner how was the day at work. It takes little effort and time but makes a huge difference. Similarly, ask your kids about their day in school.

What makes your life Easy Today Vs what makes your life Better Tomorrow

If you understand this you will be able to navigate yourself towards a happier life. This is human nature to find an easy way out. But remember an easy way out is not always the best solution.

Some things need to be faced with utmost care and detail. Some things need to be tackled upfront to manage them effectively. Escaping can make you feel at ease today but you are going to burn your fingers tomorrow.

Imagine yourself puffing that ball of smoke when you feel stressed. It may make you feel light for the moment but it is slowly robbing your health and making your tomorrow painful.

Remember yourself avoiding that difficult conversation with your partner or telling your boss what is becoming toxic at the workplace. This may save you from an immediate stressful evening but by doing so you are inviting years of stress and trauma.

Identify the implications of your actions. Go head-on with what is required to be done.

Because what you do today will lay the foundation of your tomorrow.

Do not ruin your many tomorrows for the artificial happiness of one today.