Organizing your Life
We often prioritize our personal and professional lives by importance so tasks stay on track and get done. Sadly however, other tasks such as buying a birthday present or an appraisal, which we feel are not so important at the time, are often missed. Once we realize we missed them, these tasks become very urgent and we rush to get them done.
If we have a secretary, he or she often ensures that we do not forget these ‘not important tasks’: the things that often slip by unnoticed until that moment of chilling horror when we realize we forgot them, are picked up by our personal assistant. There can be no denying that a good secretary is worth his or her weight in gold.
However, few can afford to have a secretary. This is where Priority Matrix (PM) helps us remember the tasks that we all too often forget, but we do not think of as urgent or a priority.
What is a Virtual Secretary?
One solution to your task management issues is to hire a virtual secretary. Virtual secretaries work remotely and you can delegate tasks to them. This has advantages as it frees up your time to get on with the important tasks, while other tasks such as managing your email and bookkeeping are left to your virtual assistant.
Though this sounds like a good arrangement, virtual assistants are not cheap. They may be in a different country which means different time zones. Virtual secretaries also become ill, may not be available when you need them or might be swapped once you get used to them.
Priority Matrix however never sleeps. It never becomes ill, and it is available 24 hours a day. PM lets you visualize your to do list using the Eisenhower system.
It can also be used to set reminders and reoccurring reminders. Moreover, PM lets you do this easily and quickly, simply by typing in the conversation box, for example, just by typing ‘remind me tomorrow at 5pm’. Planing, prioritization and reminders will greatly reduce the chances of you forgetting, and your life stays on track so you focus on your most important projects.
All well and good so far, but when do these tasks get factored into your life?
Strategies for Completing the Tasks before they become Critical
Downtime
We all have downtime, and often this time is not utilized to its full potential. If you’re waiting for a bus or traveling on the subway, why not start working on the tasks that need to be done. One glance at PM and you can see whether you need to find a birthday present, or start preparing documents for a project.
When having a coffee break or traveling, is it possible to do personal tasks such as buying a birthday present online? If there is time, and you can buy it without leaving your desk, why not do so? Researching information is another task you can do when you cannot do anything else.
Grouping Tasks
Another method to deal with tasks of this kind is to group them together so that you can set aside time to blitz through them. PM lets you keep track as you go, so you can strike off as you complete, which is not only productive but satisfying.
Delegating Tasks When you have no Co-workers
Delegation is an art. Knowing which tasks to pass to others for maximum efficiency is a key to hitting your goals and succeeding. What happens however, if we have no co-workers to delegate to? The advantage of PM is that you can see the tasks when they need to be done, so you can prioritize and change priorities of tasks as needed.
This provides the flexibility to adjust your schedule. You may have planned to buy the birthday present today, but something urgent has come up out of the blue. Shuffling your task list is very easy on PM, and thanks to the reminder system you never lose track of, or forget tasks.
Automation
Sometimes, tasks can be automated and this obviously frees up a lot of time, and removes plenty of headaches and stress. Automate as much as possible, and record that these tasks are automated on Priority Matrix. This way, not only will you not forget these tasks are automated, but the rest of your team will know as well.
Make your team management and task delegation better today with Priority Matrix. Try it for free.