PRIORITY SETTING

Setting priorities requires making hard decisions continually. It is troublesome because demands, requests, and tasks change constantly.

Despite the difficulty in making a decision about priorities, the process is simple: you categorize requests, demands, and tasks. For example, you might categorize them according to high, medium, and low priority.

High priority means addressing those items immediately; failure to do so will result in a show stopper. Medium priority means addressing those items after handling the high priority ones; failure to do so will not be an immediate show stopper but will become one later if left unattended. Low priority means addressing those items if time permits; failure to do so will not become a show stopper.

Categorizing is not an objective process. You must decide what goes into each category. Your decisions will depend on the nature of the demand, request, or task and on your experience. No mathematical calculation exists that will make your decisions easy.

Priority setting provides obvious advantages. It allows you to focus your energies and attention and enables you to address the most serious concerns first. It also makes effective use of time and other resources.

for Priority Setting

• Determine your goal(s).
• As requests come in, evaluate them from the perspective of achieving the goal(s).
• Classify the goal(s) as high, medium, or low priority.
• Focus on the high priority request(s), noting a completion date and time.