Opus View

Knowing how to prioritize work is one of the biggest struggles in the modern workplace. Everything feels important, and workloads are ballooning. However, the reality is, a lot of work that we do every day doesn’t really need to be done. At least not on an immediate basis. This blog discusses how you can prioritize work and meet deadlines by using some of the best prioritization methods.

Use the ABCDE method to separate tasks with seemingly similar properties

In comparison to some of the popular prioritization methods, the ABCDE method doesn’t keep every task on a single priority level but provides two or more levels for every task. Here’s how it works:

§  Review your list, giving every task a letter from A to E, with A being at the highest priority.

§  For every task with an A, assign it a number which dictates the order you’ll do it in.

§  Repeat until every task has numbers and letters.

This prioritization strategy is deceptively simple yet effective.

Use the Eisenhower Matrix to separate the important from the urgent

This matrix comprises a simple, four-quadrant box that helps you to separate the ‘urgent’ from the ‘important’ ones.

Basically, urgent tasks are things you need to react to immediately, like news, texts, phone calls, or emails. On the other hand, important tasks are those that contribute to your long-term goals, values, and mission.

When looking to prioritize a task as best as you could, ask which of the quadrants they best fit in, and then tackle them accordingly.

Use the Ivy Lee method to rank your work by its true priority

This method is a ridiculously easy way to force prioritization of your daily work. Here’s how it works:

§  After the end of every day, jot down the six most important tasks that are needed to be achieved tomorrow. Remember, limit yourself to six tasks only.

§  After arriving tomorrow, focus on just the first task. Before moving on to the next one, work until the first task is completed.

§  The real order of your list must be approached in the same fashion. After the day ends, move any unfinished items to a new list of six tasks for the next day.

§  Repeat this process every day

Restricting yourself to six tasks every day builds a constraint that forces you to prioritize properly, and staying focused by single-tasking your way through your list.

Use Warren Buffet’s 2-list strategy to cut out good enough goals

It doesn’t matter how effective and efficient you are every day if you’re not working towards the right goal. That’s why periodically reassessing your long-term priorities and goals is a good idea to ensure you’re on the right path.

The first step is to note down your top 25 goals. This could be education goals, career goals, life goals, or anything else you want to spend your time on.

Now, review your list and circle the top five goals.

Finally, any goal that isn’t circled goes on an ‘avoid at all cost’ list. Instead of working on these goals when you have time, you should avoid them actively. These are the tasks that seem important enough to deserve your attention, but are becoming a hindrance in your path of achieving your long-term goals.

Set the tone of your day by ‘eating the frog’

After you’re done prioritizing your most important work, it’s now time to choose how to attack the day.

It is important for your day to start right, because it sets the tone for the day. And usually, getting a hairy, large, yet important task out of the way first thing offers you energy, inspiration, and momentum to keep moving.

Social software represents a contrasting design perspective to support project working. With social software the emphasis is more on the employees’ engagement and optimizing group working than project practices.

Social software is often associated with particular types of tools, like chat, tagging, wikis, blogs, and social bookmark services. However, the focus should be on a people’s framework that optimizes participation in terms of diversity and inclusion, relationship patterns, collective knowledge, and self-adjusting groups – all to improve group dynamics and work results.

Social software encourages interaction, helping people organize themselves depending on information sharing and community participation.

Enterprises are beginning to understand that social software can assist to create environments that enhance how communities and teams innovate and perform. This software offers a different perspective to look at system design. Instead of focusing only on process and data requirements, social software focusses on the implicit aspects of how work is carried out.People learn best from the perspective of their work, and usually through peer interaction. Social software concentrates on ‘the edge’ by making it simpler for people to communicate and share information that the formal channels may not offer. Social software offers a balance to more formalized processes around learning and knowledge management.

Similar trends have emerged in other areas, like enterprise content management and enterprise portals, where suppliers are under pressure as once-specialized technology becomes a commodity as general infrastructure. It would be vital for these suppliers to focus on specific infrastructure services/vertical market products and applications that extend what major suppliers offer as a core framework.

Technologists have become more knowledgeable in understanding business needs. The result? A slight enhancement in the way enterprise infrastructure and applications are built, planned and deployed to support the information and process management needs of the firms.

More and more organizations realize that rewarding effort and achievements that support your business goals enhances loyalty and maintains staff retention. When it comes to successful employer-employee relations, rewards, perks, and benefits are becoming as significant as pay.

The most successful reward management strategies offer employees opportunities to improve themselves through a mutually beneficial way of acknowledging good work. Let’s look through the myriad benefits to your organization that a good reward management system can provide.

 1. Contributes to Employee Value Proposition (or EVP)

If you’re unsure of what EVP is, know that it’s big. Think ‘extra very important’ if you can’t recall the letters. While it may sound silly, its importance cannot be overemphasized. The EVP is a holistic package you’re offering to your workforce, and a reward management system is an integral component of this.

2. Contributes to the culture of collaboration

In today’s modern workforce , there is an ever-growing shift away from the ‘pay-grade’ to work reward and recognition. Great reward management links rewards and recognition to the values and goals of the company.

When empowered management and team leaders reward and recognize an employee effort, you demonstrate to your workforce the behaviors they should adopt. This approach adds to and positively develops your company culture..

3. Attracts and retains the top talent

To be a top-performing organization, they must attract and retain high-potential right-thinking employees because the capabilities of the workforce can make all the difference. Attracting talent isn’t easy, particularly when businesses are having to tighten budgets.

Reward management can be part of strategy to attract individuals with the right talent to an organization. A clearly aligned business goals reward management system will increase productivity and create a cohesive and successful work environment where both results and behaviors are recognized and rewarded.

4. Rewarding at the moment

By rewarding your employees at the moment, their motivation level will be amplified. They would be tempted to do more work. This increased productivity will come with the quality too because the employees would realize that their work contributions are being appreciated. Thus, reward management through this approach will instill a sense of empathy within your employees, who will now look to deliver quality work and results.

5. Increases productivity

While it’s simple, it needs to be said – Reward management will help to increase productivity and team morale. When employees know that attractive rewards lie around the corner, and their work efforts will be cognized, they’re likely to deliver outputs on schedule. Knowing that their hard work will be appreciated, team members will be more engaged and collaborate for effectively.

6. Contributes to the wellbeing of employees

It isn’t difficult to imagine scenarios where neglecting the hard work of a team member can leave them feeling demotivated and disengaged.

With employee wellbeing gaining prominence more than ever, you simply cannot afford to risk forgetting about the individuals pushing your organizations goals. A reward management strategy will focus on making your employees happier and more engaged. An energized workforce will produce their best work.

7. Encourages a long-term outlook from employees

Remember that a sophisticated reward management software will encourage consistent good work over some time instead of offering here-and-now rewards for isolated pieces of good work. This is where the ‘management’ comes into the picture. Instead of flinging freebies at your employees, think about how to best connect them with the long-term goals, thereby breeding a long-term outlook.

8. Make employees loyal

Similar, yet distinct from culture and retention is loyalty. A reward management system that’s effective enough will ensure that all your employees can meaningfully bond with your business. This will enhance a range of areas.  For instance, how they sell and speak about the company to others, whether they be potential job applications of clients.