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country, do you need to consider the time it will take to traffic communications or documents
back and forth between those two locations?
Why? Why have you been asked to complete this task? Why is it necessary in the
context of long- term goals? Understanding the big picture will help you stay focused and
prioritize better.
How? How should you complete the task? How will your completed task be measured or
evaluated? "How" something needs to be done has a huge effect on time management decisions
and on the quality and cost of the task.
Prioritizing tips
If you are having trouble dealing with your workload in a reasonable amount of time, it
might be time to consider these tips. Followed routinely, they will make a seemingly endless list
of tasks more doable.
- Do ask yourself the basics: Who, What, When, Where, Why and How.
- Do make lists and stick to them. According to experts, lists are one of the most
effective time management tools, v' Do allow yourself more time than you think you need to
perform necessary tasks.
- Don't let distraction sabotage your list of tasks.
- Don't forget to factor in time sinks like e- mail and returning phone calls.
- Don't fall into time traps like private net surfing or excessive chatting with
coworkers.
Signs of poor time management
When a workplace is in a constant state Of emergency, it's usually a result of poor time
management. In managing your own time, be sure to anticipate the possibility that others may be
operating in a state of chaos. Watch out for -
- Constant last- minute pleas to begin or finish projects
- Exhausted staff members
- Harried and harassed bosses.
Prioritizing effectively
1. Beware the seduction of task-based lists. The elements of prioritization are simple:
Know what tasks need to be done and rank them in order of priority. Stephen Covey of 7
Habits of Highly Effective People fame suggested ranking tasks across four metrics:
important/not important and urgent/not urgent. Obviously, tasks both urgent and important go
first, issues not important or not urgent go last, and the rest fall somewhere in between. You’ve
got your list.
This is fine, so far as it goes, but the process can create a sense a false sense of
satisfaction: If I cross everything off this list, will I have done my best work today? This might
work for middle managers at a mature company, but for a startup entrepreneur this can be a
Sisyphean exercise in futility. You’re never going to finish that list and would waste time each
day revising it on the fly.
2. Focus solely on themes that will drive growth. Of the 100 things that crowd the
entrepreneurial mind as things you “need to do,” about 98 will incrementally improve your
company -- but two have the potential for exponential growth. Focus on those few, and the rest
of your niggling worries will take care of themselves.
Related: 10 Simple Things Productive People Do Better (And So Can You)
A better way to think of prioritization is not tasks but themes. What are the two or three
principal things that will drive growth? You really have to understand the key drivers of your
business and anything that doesn’t move those drivers isn’t a high priority.
For example, in the early days of NerdWallet, a key driver was getting the most amount
of web traffic in the least amount of time. That became a filter through which we sifted every
task and decision. If it didn’t meet this metric, it wasn’t a priority.
3. Forget perfectionism. Entrepreneurs are often Type A overachievers. For us, it’s
really hard to let things go unfinished and not be perfect. But if you are serious about

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