The semester is drawing to a close, exams are piling up, and you don't know where to begin studying? Don't worry, there are many others in the same boat, so we're going to share some prioritization tips to ensure nothing slips through the cracks on your study radar from now on!
Before discussing any techniques or strategies to optimize your priorities, we must address a crucial point: time. After all, who hasn't wished for a few extra hours in the day?! But be aware, these tips are designed to optimize your time and improve your quality of life, not to help you work more.
To begin: organize your tasks.
Before getting lost in a world of books or computer tabs without knowing where to begin, write down everything you need to do. This way you'll have a to-do list that you can use as a checklist.
It's also important to divide tasks by deadline, so you can manage your production and study time for each one without letting anything fall behind! In short, you'll create a kind of shopping list, but instead of grocery items, you'll have to track your studies using it.
Why is setting deadlines important?
Here, you need to keep your deadlines in mind, but not as a way to become anxious or rush to finish everything as quickly as possible. Having deadlines defined will help you organize your tasks and studies, so in the end you can calculate how much time, on average, is needed to complete each one.
Pomodoro Technique
In 1980, Francesco Cirillo developed this time management and optimization technique. But how does it work? It's simple, the proposal consists of a workday divided into breaks.
Putting it in numbers, it looks like this: 25 minutes of study and/or work followed by a five-minute break. After four blocks of work and breaks, comes the slightly longer rest period: 15 to 30 minutes.
PIF Matrix
Remember what we talked about regarding prioritizing your tasks? This is the perfect tool to help you, because it combines three criteria to rank which task is most important on your list:
- Potential: What is the probability that this action will be successful?
- Impact: How much does this action affect your to-do list?
- Ease: How much time and effort will this task require?
This matrix can be used for various decision-making processes, even deciding what to have for lunch that day! To do this, you need to rank each of these criteria in terms of importance for your checklist. The prioritization of each task will be measured by points on a scale you define, which could be from 1 to 5 points, for example.
Still a little confused? Don't worry, here's a step-by-step guide for you:
Define a goal.:
Now is the time to set a goal for the day: do you want to get ahead on tasks? Do you want to catch up on them? This is the moment to define what will guide your prioritization filters.
List the options:
This is the time to list all the tasks you need to accomplish to reach your defined goal and fulfill your ultimate objective.
Rate the options:
This is where scoring comes in, based on the potential, impact, and ease of the tasks. Write down which options will or will not be worthwhile.
Consider possible interferences:
Be aware of any potential interruptions that may occur during each task.
Analyze the scores:
Finally, re-analyze the scores taking into account the interferences and variables.
Now you're ready to organize your tasks and make the most of your free time without missing any deadlines! Tell us, what will be your starting point for an optimized routine?
