PRIORITIZATION TOOLS FOR OPTIMAL TIME MANAGEMENT

Everybody wants to be a millionaire, and everyone wants to start a business. On top of that, everyone is a preacher, teacher, or expert on how to do it, make six figures in one year, WHILE working a full-time job, AND being a parent.

Yet, no one dares to touch or discuss the one MAJOR FRACTION in the entire equation - HOW TO MANAGE YOUR TIME EFFECTIVELY. But no worries because who wants to see you REALLY win? ME – I got you covered. We are going to review time management, but first we are going to cover prioritization. So, let's figure out how to prioritize.

Prioritization is the first pillar in productivity. It is also the first step in effective time management. Prioritization helps you strategize, implement, and manage your personal and professional life better. Long story short, it gives you time back because you took the time to GET IT TOGETHER, PERIODT!

When you master the skill of prioritizing, it makes life easier because you will be able to adjust accordingly for spontaneous events. Plus, learning how to prioritize tangible tasks helps you learn how to better manage your time to include those INTANGIBLE aspects of your life you set aside- such as healing from a broken heart or losing a loved one.

There are a number of tools you can use to prioritize your time, but here are my favorites:

• Action Priority Matrix (APM)

• Eisenhower Matrix

• Warren Buffet 2-List Strategy (My favorite)

The Action Priority Matrix (APM) and the Eisenhower Matrix are very similar. Let's discuss the APM. The APM is a 4-quadrant grid that measures the impact and effort required to complete an activity. The four quadrants are broken into high impact, high effort, low impact, and low effort. Then, each quadrant is assigned a value based on the combination of impact and effort: Quick Wins, Major Projects, Fill-Ins (Fillers), and Thankless Tasks. See the example below:

The Quick Wins are where you get your greatest result. Completing tasks in this section often helps create momentum and build confidence. You feel great because you did that “ISH”, and now you want to do something else. Examples of Quick Wins include creating a to do list, picking your clothes out the night before work, or setting up auto-pay for your bills (if you are REAL GROWN GROWN).

Major Projects are where you get some return from the effort you put in, but it is nothing to brag about. These are normally projects for others, tasks that require a prerequisite task to be completed before you can start, or things you have been putting off for some time. These are best scheduled in advance, and/or broken down into smaller SMART goals in order to accomplish them. Examples of Major Projects are scheduling therapy, taking a course, or meal prepping.

The Fill-Ins are just that - they fill-in the time when you are idle (which is NEVER). Fill-Ins are perfect when you need a break, and you want to relax your mind for a second. Because these activities do not require much effort, they help you come back to the Major Projects and Quick Wins with a refresh and renewed mind. Checking your email (not the professional, the personal one with the Shein & Fashion Nova deals and discounts), checking the Shade Room, or dancing to Beyoncé new album are all great examples of Fill-In moments.

Thankless Tasks are stuff you shouldn't waste your time doing, if you can avoid it. If we are prioritizing, this is stuff you need to remove from your life, or limit how much time you dedicate to it. PERIODT! You waste your energy doing these things - such as grocery shopping, cleaning your car out, or even cleaning your house (I TOTALLY DISAGREE, BUT I SEE FOLKS GOT MAIDS....SO I DIGRESS).

The idea of the APM is to give you a better overall picture of where you are exerting the most energy and time during the day. I found APM to be most effective when planning out my bi-weekly and monthly work assignments. I also believe this is useful for weekly assignments if you are consistently receiving new projects.

The Eisenhower Matrix is very similar with the same four quadrants, except they are measured by urgency and importance:

As you can see, the quadrants are measured by things you should do, what you need to schedule, what you need to delegate, and things to DELETE! Although similar to APM; however, this matrix offers greater rewards because it forces a deadline upon the user. In APM, it measures the excess of energy you use to get it done and how the overall picture is impacted by the activity.

The Eisenhower Matrix measures only the time for the activity - how long it takes and how much time you allotted to complete it. For most people, this is useful because it is a true time tracker for the activities they are assigned or that need to done immediately, such as getting your vehicle serviced, project deadline, or paying a bill on time. Further, it completely eliminates all distractions, such as social media, watching TV, or playing video games. However, we all know that is IMPOSSIBLE (or is it?)

I suggest using this matrix more if you want to track the actual time used for your daily activities, especially if you are tracking on a bi-weekly and monthly basis. It will help you better organize your time and help you pick up consistent patterns with your time management.

Now, my favorite (only because it is similar to a To-Do List, and I am a To-Do List Lover) - the Warren Buffet 2 List Strategy, also known as the 25/5 Rule. It's simple, create a list with 25 of your major goals. Of the 25, circle the TOP 5 goals you want to achieve. The top five list is your primary list, and the remaining 20 goals are secondary. Now, you work ONLY on the top five goals.

You do not do anything else in regards to the other 20 goals because now they are viewed as DISTRACTIONS. So, if you didn't circle start a clothing line as your top five, stop looking to buy a heat press machine. Focus on the top five goals only. Keep in mind, not once did you set a deadline or determine the impact or effort required for the goals, you just listed them as something you HAVE TO COMPLETE before you even think about the other 20 goals. AMAZING!

The dopest part is once you complete one of the five goals, you can pull from your secondary list. Or (if we getting spicy), create a brand new top five goal based off what you have learned by accomplishing the previous goal. TUH! This is something else! Now, this may not save you time because it does not help with time tracking or truly evaluating how much energy you are putting into your work. However, what it does do is SET YOUR FOCUS AND GIVE YOU CLEARER VISION! EYE C U WARREN! Because you understand the assignment, you spend less time distracted and confused, and more time setting and implementing a plan, which gets you results at a faster pace.

This is a wonderful tool to use in prioritization on a daily, bi-weekly, monthly, or yearly basis. It can be adapted for your professional and personal life. Further, you can even use this strategy in combination with APM or the Eisenhower Matrix.

Overall, there are tools out there for you to use, but you have to first make the decision to prioritize your life to avoid early burnout, overwhelm, and/or stress. Let me be an example, I learned quick, the strategy did not matter if I was too tired to effectively implement it. Use these tools to help you better strategize and structure your life for success.

Until later, EYE C U!