We all feel that it is necessary to attend to the most important tasks before addressing the least, but we find out that it is sometimes difficult to really determine which task is more important than the other and we end up trying to do all at once. There are reasons why this happens, let’s look at some of them:
Not making prioritisation your first priority
Just like your daily tasks, prioritisation is also a task. It is something you are meant to sit down and carefully map out the top-priority tasks you are meant to attend to before the close of the day, week, month or year. You cannot just have it in your head or believe everything will flow smoothly. You have to try and evaluate tasks as well as sort out which should top your priority list and follow it judiciously.
Being distracted by little things
Most times, we often overlook the time used for “little things” such as answering phone calls or emails. It may actually seem to us like it would cost us nothing, but in reality, they take as much time as those in top priority. If these things are not listed as your top-priority, then you should avoid doing them by all cost. You should consider switching off your phone while working on a top-priority project to avoid distraction.
Refusing to Delegate
This cannot be over-emphasised. You cannot be the jack of all trade, that is just the simple truth. The ability to delegate duties is the mark of a true leader which I believe every entrepreneur is one. Most times, people want to take on a lot of responsibilities because they want to save the money that will be used to pay someone to do it for them but at the end of the day, they end up not being able to complete the numerous tasks or doing it in an improper and haphazard manner, and this adversely affects their business.
Being a Perfectionist
This includes spending more than the allocated time to a project because you feel you have to scrutinise it in order to avoid mistakes. This act would not only delay you from attending to other tasks, it will also make you see imaginary mistakes which when you try to solve, will end up leaving you frustrated.
If you really want to effectively prioritize your tasks for maximum results, then you should avoid doing these things and so the opposite instead.