What are the three main categories that can be placed on a task or to do list when prioritizing work that needs to be accomplished in the medical office?

Figuring out how you're going to prioritize your commitments, deadlines, projects, work — everything — can be a great step towards increasing your effectiveness and your efficiency.

When we talk with students about what they need to do and want to do, we find there tends to be a lot of overlap: students need to eat and sleep, to go to class, to study, to show up for work and to take time for themselves, to exercise and to socialize. But students want to be doing those things, too, because in the intensity of the day/week/term, needs are being sacrificed. As stress and overwhelm build, we may cut back our sleep time, forget to eat meals, forgo taking time for ourselves to exercise or see friends so that we can instead double-down on our study, etc. It's hard, it's common, and it can be unhealthy, too.

This is where prioritization can become quite helpful. Taking the time not only to plan out your day (based on your week's commitments/needs (which will likely be informed by your long-term calendar)), but also figuring out what needs to be done first. What you use to weight these choices may vary depending on the situation, and could include deadlines, impact on your status in school, what you prefer to do, what time of day it is and your ability to concentrate/focus, etc. Below, you'll find a few different ways to think about prioritization. Take a look a them, consider what you're already doing and what you might like to try, and then get into prioritization mode.

  FIRST: Urgency vs. Importance (from Steven Covey's “Principles of Personal Management,” in his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People)

Consider the importance (or “weight”) of the items on your list, and the urgency (“is it due/when is it due?”). Steven Covey breaks prioritization down into four quadrants, and recommends that we spend most of our time in Quadrants 1 & 2 (and as little time as possible in Quadrant 4). Take a look:

QUADRANT 1: Important + Urgent. Examples of this might be things that are due today or tomorrow, or needing to deal with emergencies or crises. It's the stuff that you can't stop thinking or that carries a lot of weight/impact.

QUADRANT 2: Important + Not-Urgent. Examples of this could be long-term projects, planning ahead, studying in advance (yes!), and starting early (rad!).

QUADRANT 3: Not Important + Urgent. This quadrant's examples might consist of interruptions, distractions, fun events that come up, social invitations, etc. They might not be important, but they feel urgent because they carry emotional resonance and/or immediacy. Which mean they're happening! Right! Now!

QUADRANT 4: Not Important + Not Urgent. Here you might be engaging in time wasters (intentionally or unintentionally), busy work, procrastination activities (do you need to cook/clean/plan/etc. at this instant?), aimless internet browsing...

To use this approach, you might make an actual grid on your paper and use it to assign your to-do list tasks to their appropriate quadrant.

  SECOND: The ABC Method (Alan Lakein)

The ABC Method was originally developed by Alan Lakein and consists of assigning a priority status of “A,”B,” or “C” to each of the items on your to-do list or task list. 

“A” Status Items – “Must Do”: high priority items | very important items | critical items | immediate or very-near deadlines and/or a high level of importance otherwise (high stakes)

“B” Status Items – “Should Do”: medium priority items | can be quite important over time | not as critical as “A” items but still important to spend time engaging in completing/working on them.

“C” Status Items – “Nice to Do”: low priority items at this time | few negative consequences if left undone at this moment (low stakes).

To use this approach, you would create your to-do list and then go through and make these marks beside each. To make it even easier to see, you could color-code. If you don't like letters, create a series of symbols that stand in for "A," "B," and "C."

  THIRD: Other Considerations . . .  (adapted from David Allen's Getting Things Done website & newsletter)

As you're making your to-do list, you're also considering the following, and this will impact the way you order your tasks:

• What can I do where I am? Think about location. What can you do where you are now? Sometimes we have unexpected pockets of time. How can you use them to your advantage?

• How much time do I have and when do I have to do something else? Be realistic about what can be done. Your to-do list might shift based on how much time you have available.

• How much energy & focus do I have? What can you realistically take on right now? When do you do your best work? How can you use this to your advantage?

• What has the highest payoff for me if I do it? Yet another way to think about importance, weight, or priorities.

Remember, how you choose to prioritize may be different than someone else's approach. But, using prioritization as a part of your time management process can help you to increase your efficiency, which in turn can help you to increase your effectiveness, too. Get a feel for what needs to happen over the course of the term, decide how that will show up in your week, and then drill down into the details for each day, taking time to prioritize your tasks.

We've got a few tools below that might be helpful. Check them out! And then come in and chat with us at the ASC. Here's where you can find us and when we're open:

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If all of this works, great, but if it doesn't quite work yet, or if you need to think through an adaptation/adjustment to your current prioritization approach, or if you just want to shout about how radical it's all going for you, please do come and visit. We want to see you! We love talking about this stuff, and we're here to support you in your work to figure out the process that's best for you.

1. Career development
2. How to Prioritize Tasks in the Workplace

By Indeed Editorial Team

Updated January 4, 2021 | Published December 12, 2019

Updated January 4, 2021

Published December 12, 2019

Related: Top Resume Skills

Learn more about what hard skills and soft skills to put on a resume so it stands out from the others.

When you have multiple work tasks to complete each day, you may need to develop an effective system to manage them. Prioritizing is a way to determine what you should accomplish first based on importance. Understanding the best ways to prioritize your tasks can save you time in the workplace.

In this article, we discuss what prioritizing is, how to prioritize tasks and give examples of skills to help you prioritize effectively.

What is prioritizing?

Prioritizing includes deciding what order tasks should be completed based on their importance. This strategy may help you organize your time more efficiently. This helps you learn how to complete important tasks first, meet deadlines and have more time to finish larger tasks. Prioritization skills can help you accomplish more work in less time.

Related: Hard Skills vs. Soft Skills

How to prioritize tasks at work

Consider these steps when prioritizing tasks in the workplace:

1. Decide which tasks are the most important

First, decide which tasks on your to-do list are the most critical. You could determine this based on deadlines you have for the week, client expectations or coworker requests. For example, you may focus on a marketing report due at the end of the day before moving on to other tasks.

2. Put your tasks in a calendar

Once you decide which tasks are most important, schedule them into your calendar. Prioritizing your time can be easier when you see your list of tasks each day. You may find that you focus better on those daily tasks when you have a visual reminder of each one you need to complete. Completing them can also provide a feeling of accomplishment.

3. Set boundaries

Once you focus on your tasks for that day, you can further prioritize by setting specific times to focus on your work. You may have coworkers that call, email or walk over to your desk regularly to talk to you about non-urgent issues. It is appropriate to let them know you are focused on a project and will speak with them at a later time. You can ask them not to disturb you during the morning, but that you would be happy to talk in the afternoon.

Another method of prioritizing your time is setting your email away message to let people know which hours of the day you respond to emails. You might find that you focus better and accomplish more tasks when you set specific times to work without interruptions.

Read more: Time Management Skills: Definitions and Examples

Tips for prioritizing in the workplace

Here are a few ways you can prioritize your duties in the workplace, which can make you a more productive employee:

Account for distractions

Having distractions throughout your day is normal, whether you have shifted focus to another task or are responding to a coworker. You might also need breaks during the day to relax and refocus. When you accept that distractions will happen, you might have an easier time including them in your schedule. You can even schedule your breaks, such as a 10-minute coffee break mid-morning and a 15-minute walk late afternoon.

Get help from technology

With advancements in technology, there are many productivity tools available that can help you prioritize and stay on task. Downloading an application on your computer to keep track of your time on a specific task allows you to see how efficiently you’re working. You could also use a timer to help you focus on tasks and plan breaks. For instance, you could set your timer for an hour of work and plan to go on a break for five minutes afterward.

Prioritize one task at a time

It may be tempting to multitask to accomplish more, but it is often better to focus on one task at a time. This strategy can ensure your full attention is on that assignment so you can efficiently complete it before moving on to the next item on your list. You could have a higher chance of turning in quality work when you are not distracted by other tasks.

Use a scheduling tool

Prioritize tasks by writing everything you have due in the upcoming month. From there, determine what needs to be done daily, by the end of each week and by the month’s end. You can write this down on a spreadsheet and then organize the tasks in a calendar. Scheduling your tasks based on deadlines can help you stay focused and work more efficiently.

Delegate tasks

If you can assign duties or share responsibilities with coworkers, you could make a list of everything you need to complete by the end of the week and delegate specific tasks to others. Decide which tasks others could finish without your supervision and assign them to your coworkers so you can focus on issues that need your immediate attention. This way you can prioritize the tasks that you need to finish quickly.

How to highlight prioritization skills

Knowing how to prioritize your tasks can make you a more qualified job candidate. Here are several ways you can underline prioritization skills when applying to a new job:

Prioritization skills for your resume

A strong resume should list examples of prioritization skills you use at your current or previous employer. You can list several skills and explain how you use them. For example, you might say the following in your summary or objective on your resume:

“Lead marketing manager with three years of experience using prioritization skills to organize tasks by importance and set deadlines for the marketing department to ensure it completed all projects on time.”

Related: 6 Universal Rules for Resume Writing

Prioritization skills for your cover letter

Your cover letter is an opportunity to talk about how you prioritize tasks in more detail. You can tailor it to the position you are applying for by reading the job posting thoroughly and mentioning specific keywords that show you know how to prioritize, like being punctual or well-organized. For example, you could talk about your prioritization skills in your cover letter in the following way:

“In my prior position as a receptionist, I was in charge of scheduling appointments for the human resources team each day. I would get a large number of phone calls and emails daily from prospective employees, so I prioritized my tasks by spending the morning returning their calls. I would complete my emails in the afternoon when it was not as busy since they were not as urgent.”