Prof.

(Dr) Arup Barman,

Professor, Business Administration, Assam University, Silchar &
Director (Hony), Academic Planning and Partnership, IIU-India
Email: abgeet@gmail.com

12/26/2021 Prof. (Dr) Arup Barman 1

 Theme of Speech
Managing Priorities to Improve Results:

360 Degree Philosophy

 What are the Priorities ?
• Only Career? Or Else?
• Physique • Psycho
• To be a human?
logy • Formula
•
P2
P1 2P+2S= Human

• No-one Speaks of this

S2
S1
• Spiritualit • Soci Priority
y ety
Making a Balance 2P+2S (By caring)
What are those Priories
 Priority Mgt
Step-1
• Focus on roles and responsibilities at work and at
home.
• Ask yourself, “What is the most important thing for
me to be doing at this time?”
• Devote less energy to non-critical tasks
• Know what your work actually is and what is
involved.
 20-Tips
1. Listing Down Tasks on a Master to-do List
2. Prioritizing Your Work **********
3. Ranking Your Priorities
4. Breaking Large Tasks into Smaller Pieces
5. Estimating Time and Effort/Being Realistic on What
You Can do in a Day
6. Managing Deadlines
7. Dealing with Interruptions***********
 20 Tips
8. Asking for Help at Work
9. Preparing Agendas for Meetings
10. Giving Status Updates/Reporting Progress
11. How to Support Your Boss’s Priorities
12. Managing Long-Term Priorities
13. Learning About Other People’s Prioritization Tips
14. Handling Repetitive Processes and Projects
15. Managing Perfectionism and Procrastination
16. What to do When You Are Prioritizing for Others
17. Dealing with Changing Deadlines and Priorities
18. Why Deadlines Get Missed
19. Benefits of Meeting Deadlines
20. What to do When You Miss a Deadline
Questions to guide you when setting priorities:
• What needs to be done immediately?
• What are the consequences if the task is not
done?
• When should you start working on the task?
• What resources and inputs do I need to
complete this task?
• What has not been done that should have
been done?
Questions to guide you when tracking progress on
your priority list:
• What tasks have I completed?
• What is the outcome when a task is completed?
• What am I constantly postponing on my list? Why?
• What should not have been on the list in the first
place?
• How can I shorten my to-do list?
• Is this to-do list relevant anymore? From time to time
re-write a fresh master to-do list at least every month
or two.
 3. Ranking Your Priorities

An easy method for prioritizing tasks is ranking using

simple ABC priority levels namely:
• category A (do it now),
• (things to be done first including those with
immediate, urgent or closest deadlines and the
most important projects with highest returns and
significant consequences if not done.)
 Priority
Category B (do it soon)
• are medium priority items
which have later deadlines.
These items transition to
category A items as the due
dates approach. It is
important to start working
on portions of medium
priority items over time so
that they can be ready
when due
Category C (do at
leisure)
• low priority items which
have low consequences
if not done or if not
done now i.e. things I
would like to do when
time permits.
 Management of Interruptions
• Here are a few ways of dealing with constant
interruptions:
• Turn off notifications for emails, voicemail, apps,
instant messages, text messages etc.
• When interrupted by someone, quickly listen to
what the request is to determine the urgency.
• If a request will take time to process, request to talk
later and actually follow through.
• If you can quickly address the request, give your
answer and get back to your priorities.
 Management of Interruptions
• Let your colleagues know when you are working on a time-
sensitive deadline to give you some space.
• Wear headphones.
• Share your schedule or calendar to keep others updated on
when you are busy to help them identify a better time to
talk when you are available.
• Check and respond to emails and voicemail at specific
intervals.
• If approved, work remotely – utilize a work from home day
to complete an urgent or detailed project.
• Work in a quiet location in the office.
• Attend meetings where you can add value.
 “When you
think ahead it
just becomes
obvious”
Steve Jobs

PROACTIVE
20 Tips to Proactive
• How much are we
proactive? Assess