Mastering Prioritisation: Top Strategies for Optimising Efficiency and Productivity

For so many local government officers, particularly as you climb the corporate ladder, officers always have an endless number of tasks and such a breadth of responsibility to look after, that can frankly, leave you feeling exhausted, overwhelmed and failing to spend the time on the most important tasks. Time and time again executive officers who I coach, ask me, “How do I create the time to really deliver, what I want to deliver?” Learn the art of prioritisation. That is the starting point!

Subscribe to the Truth about Local Government podcast

The reality, is either you control your diary, your agenda and what gets your attention, or you are at the mercy of the environment and its demands on you. Play around with the following suggestions and see the impact they have on your diary and your ability to prioritise.

Identify Urgent vs. Important Tasks:

It is impossible for everything to be important and urgent. Utilise the Eisenhower Matrix categorising tasks into four quadrants: urgent and important, important but not urgent, urgent but not important, and neither urgent nor important.

By focusing on urgent and important tasks first, you ensure that critical deadlines are met and significant goals are achieved. Tasks that are important but not urgent should be scheduled, while urgent but not important tasks can often be delegated. Tasks that are neither urgent nor important should be minimised or eliminated.

Set Clear Goals

Without a clear set of goals, there is absolutely no way you reach your destination. It’s like trying to arrive at your holiday destination, without having bought tickets for your journey. What I find highly effective is using the SMART goals technique. Ensure your goals are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. This clarity helps in prioritising tasks that directly contribute to achieving these goals. For example, if your goal is to increase disposals from your commercial portfolio by 20% in six months, prioritise tasks that directly impact disposals activities.

"Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible." – Tony Robbins

Use a Task Management Tool:

Tools like Trello, Asana, and Microsoft To Do offer features such as task lists, deadlines, reminders, and collaboration options. These tools help you keep track of tasks, set priorities, and monitor progress. For instance, Trello uses boards, lists, and cards to organise tasks visually, making it easier to see what needs to be done and when.

Time Blocking

Time blocking is the Chuck Norris of prioritising.

Allocate specific time slots for different types of tasks throughout your day. For example, dedicate the first hour of your workday to high-priority tasks, the next two hours to meetings, and the afternoon to routine tasks. By embracing this method, your ability to manage time effectively will lead to important tasks getting the attention they need without being overshadowed by less critical, but perhaps but appealing tasks.

"Discipline is choosing between what you want now and what you want most." – Abraham Lincoln

Delegate When Possible:

Do not feel guilty for delegating. In fact, feel proud that you empower your team and those you interact with to have the opportunity to contribute and shape the activity that you are working on. Identify tasks that can be handled by others and then delegate, delegate, delegate!

When you commit to doing this so much more free time will suddenly appear that you can invest into more critical tasks. However, in order to effectively delegate, you have to ensure that you clearly communicate the task requirements, provide the necessary resources, and set expectations for outcomes and deadlines. Don’t be throwing hospital passes, make sure if you delegate you do so in a way that you would want to have a task delegated to you.

Limit Distractions:

The world is incredibly distracting. Whether you work in an office or at home, the sheer volume of things that could distract you are infinite. You have got to really think about what distracts you and then take steps to minimise that distraction. Leave your personal phone at the door. Tell your colleagues you are concentrating for the next 30 minutes and not to be disturbed. We all get distracted by different things, so do what is right for you in that moment. But, do create periods in the day for distraction to have your attention. You are not a robot.

Review and Adjust:

No plan survives first contact with the enemy.

Priorities change frequently throughout the day. You need to be agile and regularly review, is the task you are working on still the priority. One of my favourite books, Is who moved my cheese? If things change, you need to adjust course. But, ensure you get that review in your diary or as a habit you implement when new work comes in. Quite a neat habit stack, when new works comes in, I will check to see if this has affected my priorities.

Break Down Large Tasks 

Divide large tasks into smaller, manageable chunks. This makes them less overwhelming and easier to tackle. For instance, if you're working on a major report, break it down into sections such as research, writing, editing, and formatting. Tackle each section individually to maintain progress and avoid feeling overwhelmed.

"How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time," Desmond Tutu

Use the 80/20 Rule:

We can significantly enhance our efficiency and productivity by applying the Pareto Principle, which suggests focusing on the 20% of tasks that yield 80% of the results. By adopting this principle it encourages you to identify and prioritise tasks that have the highest impact on your goals.

For instance, rather than spreading your efforts thinly across numerous activities, officers should concentrate on key initiatives that drive the most substantial outcomes. This approach not only streamlines workflow but also fosters a more strategic and results-oriented mindset.

Stay Organised:

There are few things in life more frustrating than losing your keys, that email you received from a member or what that valuation report is on that community asset. You need to become ruthlessly organised, both in the physical and digital world. Do not allow clutter or disorganisation to creep into your life.

Everyone is fallible to being distracted, but if you can have the self awareness to reflect, prioritise and then check back in with yourself with the brutal honesty required not only will you become more efficient and better at prioritising but you will be less stressed and happier. There are so many things in life we can’t control, so take the opportunity to control the variables you can control. Get curious, get creative and see what works for you. The fact your prioritised to read this article is a great starting point.

This blog post was sponsored by RPNA, who help local authorities to deliver projects and implement changes efficiently. They offer expertise in areas like leadership, wellbeing, technology, and commercial acumen, ensuring excellent value for money and meeting key priorities.