Prioritisation

We can all feel overwhelmed at times, and if you are a valuable resource within the team, with some unique or in demand expertise, then you will likely be inundated with requests for your time. So how do you decide which things to focus on and which ones to drop?

This is a good opportunity to work through your current project list. Write out a list of all your projects down, including the stakeholders and estimated time allocation. Talking through this list will demonstrate your value as well as getting them to think about what is most important to focus on.

Don’t get too attached to passion projects, sometimes you have to let go in order to have impact. Make sure that you leave yourself enough space to deal with inevitable firedrills as they arise and interesting or purpose driven projects too - anything that gives you meaning and helps to keep you motivated.

The Pareto principle is a very common principle whereby 80% of impact will come from 20% of inputs, e.g. your top 20% of clients will generate 80% of revenue, or 20% of work work will generate 80% of your performance. The key is to identify that top 20% and any rising stars that can become part of that 20%, while also growing the longtail in a more scaled and efficient manner.

I like to then use a 2 by 2 prioritisation matrix, e.g. the Eisenhower matrix, which looks at what is urgent vs. important and helps you determine what you should Do, Delegate, Defer or Delete.

Credit: https://todoist.com/

For strategic planning I like to use a similar matrix based on impact vs scalability. This helps us to decide what project initiatives we should focus on as a team, because those with high impact and scalability are naturally the top priority, whereas those with lower impact or scalability will yield smaller results. That said, a high impact project could be very meaningful for one client or initiative, so may be worth devoting some resources to. Meanwhile a lower impact but highly scalable project could be a quick win.

Women in digital marketing and tech often face additional challenges in terms of prioritization, particularly if they are working in male-dominated fields. According to a study by LeanIn.org, women are more likely to be interrupted in meetings and to have their ideas ignored or dismissed. This can make it harder for them to get the support and resources they need to complete their tasks, which can make prioritization even more important. By being proactive and setting clear priorities, women can ensure that their work is recognized and that they are able to make progress in their careers.

Sometimes as much as we recognise a highly valuable project it is hard to get started, and we find ourselves completeing easier tasks as a way of procrastinating on the big ticket item. Recognise procrastination when you’re doing it. If you’re procrastinating well, because you’re mulling a topic before you take a decisive course of action, that might be a good use of time, assuming you’re doing something else that is productive. However, if it’s causing missed deadlines or shoddy work, that is something that you need to address. Understanding the root cause of your procrastination will help you to rectify it.

Then you have a couple of options: you can squash the frog, make your bed or break it down into chunks. The squash the frog approach is get it out of the way first thing, put all your focus and energy into getting it done until it’s complete. Or you can make your bed - do something small and basic to give you a small sense of achievement. Finally, the break it down approach works on the principle that a big task is more surmountable when broken into manageable chunks.