Effective Time Management Solutions Using Priorities

The phone is ringing off the hook, customers are wondering when you or one of your employees is going to show up and one worker hasn’t shown up for the day. Everything is in confusion and there isn't enough time available to get everything done and please everyone at the same time.

At this point it’s time to stop, take out a pen and paper or a specialized app for tradies and start making a list of priorities.

The top priority is finding the priorities

Knowing what you need to do next is a big step towards putting everything into place. Of course you may not be able to get everything done during the day but you can get the most important things out of the way. Knowing what to do next is half the battle.

Make a complete list of all the priorities that you have on your plate for the day. Either get them done yourself if you’re running a one-man show or allocate responsibilities to your employees and then ensure that they get done.

What is a high priority item?

High Priority Items are the things that will give you the most productivity or help to stop some type of dangerous activity.

For example, if you have someone screaming in your phone that she expects someone to show up at her door today after waiting for 3 days for a workman, this may be a top priority to handle especially if this client is one that refers others to you!

Put this one on your list and get someone out to the site if possible. If not, at least do your best to handle the situation to get her calmed down. Perhaps you could offer her a discount on her work in appreciation for her patience. Free stuff can actually go a long way when dealing with clients!

Other high-priority items would include things that relate to higher profit levels, keeping key projects rolling along and acquiring new business. These high-priority items should also be a key part of your overall future business goals.

Get them done fast

Get the things that have been classified as high priorities out of the way so that you can move on to medium priorities quickly. Try to schedule these high priority items for periods of the day when you are working at a level of peak performance.

The middle of the afternoon can often be a bit of a slump time for many workers while the morning usually offers higher performance levels.

Medium priority items would be considered to be things such as standard tasks that must be done on a monthly, weekly or daily basis and regular administrative activities. Items of a low priority include things that could be put off without affecting work practices or goals.

By using priorities you’ll find that you’re working with a lot less stress and getting more done. You may even find that you can take a day off in the near future to relax and get caught up with family time and other leisure activities that you love to do.