5 Specific Questions to Help You Prioritise Your Time and Energy

This post was written by Alex Phillips, Co Founder of Saint Belford.

It's easy to get overwhelmed by our to-do list when we believe that everything is a priority and everything needs to get done now.

If we stop to ask ourselves a few specific questions, we can figure out what our true priorities are and feel a sense of relief knowing we don’t need to do it all right now, and we're allowed to ask for help. 

5 questions to ask yourself:

Does this absolutely need to be done today?

Often, it doesn’t. Just remember there’s a difference between need and want. We might want to get it done today but in reality, we don’t need to. 

Does this need to be done by me? If not, who can I delegate it to?

Often, it’s our ego preventing us from asking for help and delegating, so consider if that’s the case. Let go of the need to "do it all" and give yourself permission to ask for help.

What’s the value/benefit of getting this done?

For me personally, the more value and benefits a particular task provides, the higher up on the priority list it goes. 

What’s the risk/consequences if I don’t get it done?

Again, the more consequences of not doing something, the higher up on the priority list it goes. For me personally, the task with the most consequences will take higher priority than the task that provides the most benefits. 

If you absolutely had to stop working after doing just one task, which would you do?

Imagine a scenario where you could only complete one task today. This is really helpful in identifying what the #1 priority is.