How can I best prioritize tasks?

James H

Hello, I have a question about task prioritization. I've set up the agenda for my colleagues but most people's dashboards are just simply way too full with assigned tasks to really do anything but feel paralyzed. Does anyone have a system for organizing assigned tasks they can share?

Admin BSF.company

Hi @James H, this is how I make it work for me, maybe it could work for you.

Firstly, when I spend time on MeisterTask, 8 out of 10 times you'll find me in the Agenda. This is how my Agenda looks this morning:

The meaning of each column is as follows:

• DE ENFASIS = FOCUS = Stuff that needs follow-up.
• COBRANZA = MONEY = Customers that are behind their payment schedules for some reason.
• VENTAS = SALES = Leads I'm responsible for closing.
• CONTENIDO = CONTENT = Pieces of content that need review, changes, publishing, etc.
• DEFCON2 = RED ALERT = Urgent stuff that needs special attention (try to keep empty)

The reason I spend most of my time in the Agenda is because today's work pace makes the project dashboards look exactly like you described: cluttered, full of cards inviting to analysis-paralysis.

By using the agenda, I can prioritize at two levels, like a matrix:

• Order of execution: On top, the cards that will go first, below the next, and so on.
• Category of the task: some columns are more important than others.

This method has proven useful, especially for those times when the project count in my account touches the 3 digit mark.

When I need to spend time in a specific project dashboard, I find 3 features really useful:

• The filter sidebar button
• The tags buttons
• The "My tasks" button

This way I can "clean" the clutter and leave visible only what requires my attention, according to certain criteria particular to that moment.

You can also filter tasks by state, due date, etc.

Some tips I can share with you are these:

• Try to build your Kanban board resembling the business process or project you wish to manage.
• The simplest Kanban board has 3 columns: Pending, In Progress, and Done.
• Take advantage of colors. Make your process a colorful experience for your team.

Colors help convey meaning. That's why I love Meister and its slogan: Work Beautifully Together.

Best regards.

James H

Wow, thank you so much Andres!!! - that sounds like a much better suggestion - We have our agendas organized by "next actions", "upcoming", "waiting" (for on hold tasks) and "watching." The problem is that the "next actions" column ends up being completely full of everything :) You've put them into business categories, which I think might make prioritzation easier. I'm going to try this out!

1000x thanks

Andrew Lapidus

@James H -I've also had incidents where the "next action" part of my workflow is overwhelming.

I absolutely love @Andres D'Andrea 's idea of a separate "emergency" tab in agenda (the name "DEFCON 2" is amazing 😂) to prevent exactly this.

Admin BSF.company

Hey @James H , @Andrew Lapidus , thanks for your comments.

I'm glad to help and sure there are many ways to be productive. Eager to learn from other's experiences as well ✅

Best regards.

Andrés D'Andrea.

Andrew Lapidus

I had to open this back up and give an update on my own personal organization - I have long used the MeisterTask agenda to organize tasks by priority - I've used the Eisenhower method, GTD, MoSCoW, and others, but they all had the issue you named @James H - my "next actions" section (or "today" or "must have") would always get completely huge.

Along with that, it also prevented me from organizing at "two levels", as @Andres D'Andrea said - every task was organized by priority, which left me with no overview of my different areas of responsibility and commitment.

Now the good news - A couple weeks ago I reorganized my agenda with a section for each separate area of my professional responsibilities, as per @Andres D'Andrea 's suggestion, and began prioritzing those on a vertical axis. I also followed the advice of using a red "Urgent" tab which I try to keep empty.

For me, the ultimate test of a productivity hack is whether it relieves stress and gives me a bit more peace of mind when organizing my day. Happy to report this has absolutely been the case - I can quickly open my agenda and get a feel for which areas need my attention.

Just goes to show that you can always learn something about organization and prioritization so much @Andres D'Andrea for the expert advice and @James H for opening the conversation!

Admin BSF.company

Hey @Andrew Lapidus I'm glad you find this helpful.

Thanks, @James H indeed for opening the talk.

Have a productive day, everyone 😉 👍

Andrés D'Andrea