4 Tips to Keep Your Todo List Sorted by Priority

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When you look at your todo list, is it in order of priority?

Are you tasks prioritized from most to least important?

More likely, it is a hodgepodge of todos that you have collected. They are probably all co-mingled and in whatever order you captured them.

To be the most effective, you need to take the time to prioritize your list.

Ordering Your Task List

Having a list is good. Having a prioritized (and ordered) list is even better.

Make sure you sort your todo list by priority. This can be easier said than done, because many todo apps don’t provide an easy method to do this. (Others make is so complex that many don’t bother.)

Yet, taking the few extra moments to prioritize your list can make a tremendous difference in your productivity.

“Always make sure your todo list is sorted by priority.”

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Here are 4 Tips to help you keep your list in order of priority:

Not everything can be a top priority – Simply put, everything on your list cannot be a top priority. If you have marked everything as “high” priority, you need to reevaluate your list. Some items needs to be medium or even low priority.
Order your todo list – Once you have set priorities for your tasks, make sure you order your list from most to least important. This can take a bit of extra work. (Rewriting a paper list or re-ordering an app-based list.) This will allow you to know exactly which order to complete items on your list.
Don’t confuse urgent with important – A common mistake is to automatically make urgent items as a top priority. They may be, but often they are not. Don’t drop your priorities just because something has come up.
Avoid being tempted by fun tasks – Don’t let yourself be tempted by tasks you want to do versus the ones you need to do. Fun tasks are quick to jump to the front of the line, but by the end of the day you realize that you avoided all the tough yet important ones.