Prioritise your needs.

Good friend Gowri pinged me this morning and said “I’m always conflicted when it comes to marking tasks as urgent/important/both. Everything seems urgent and important.”

On most days, we know what needs to be done. We have a list, we’ve made promises, we’ve taken advance, we’ve committed to deadlines — all of these things tell us what we need to do that day. And then there are these peculiar days when the list feels like it’s growing out of control and we haven’t the darnedest clue where to start.

On those days, forget the task list. Focus on your goal.

• If you need money now, do the work for the customer who pays quickly.

• If you need a portfolio — as in you’re regularly worried that your profile is not strong enough — do the toughest task. It’ll help you add that big achievement to your portfolio.

• If you’re sad and just want some momentum, do the easiest. You’ll have some ticks on your list.

While it’s a good idea to prioritise based on goals every day, remember that you can’t keep procrastinating on a project you’ve committed to because it isn’t your goal anymore. 😀 Keep your word.

However, it’s not a bad idea to ask yourself if the work you are taking on is actually furthering your goals. It’s a good question to help you decide if you want that new project or not.