Prioritize Your To-Do’s With the ABC Methodology

Prioritizing your to-do listing is key to getting every part executed. You might want to be sure to’re allocating sufficient time to the tough and vital duties however saving house for the little ones, too. Attempt the ABC methodology for categorizing your duties for the day.

What’s the ABC methodology?

Categorizing your duties by want, timeline, and time essential for completion is vital, which is why some folks use the Eisenhower matrix and others overload their Google Calendars. One of many easiest strategies was devised by Alan Lakein, an writer recognized for his traditional time administration books, like The right way to Get Management of Your Time and Your Life. He instructed assigning precedence standing when it comes to “A,” “B,” and “C” to every part it’s a must to do:

• “A” gadgets are “must-do” duties which are vital or vital and have shut deadlines.
• “B” duties are “should-do,” which means they’ve a medium degree of precedence, will likely be vital over time, however don’t have a looming deadline.
• “C” is for something that’s presently low precedence, both as a result of it has few speedy penalties or no close to deadline.

Figuring out what’s vital to do proper now and what can wait will aid you really feel much less overwhelmed and work out what to get cracking on, so that you waste much less time deliberating about the place to even begin.

The right way to incorporate this methodology into your work day

Undergo your whole to-do listing and begin rating each activity as A-, B-, or C-level. Then work out what you’re going to do with them. We suggest a technique just like the 3-3-3 approach, which includes three hours of deep work on a giant venture (one in every of your A duties), the completion of three mid-level initiatives (there are your Bs), and a while left over for the little duties (your C gadgets).

You may also designate full days to sure duties, particularly in case your A duties are actually demanding. Theming your days helps you keep on-task for hours with out worrying about different, much less vital duties, so think about devoting a complete workday to your A piece, the following day to B, and the day after that to C. Simply bear in mind to re-evaluate your lettering system each morning or so, since even C-level initiatives can immediately flip into ones with A-level urgency.