How to Best Prioritize Your Work Tasks

When the first task lands on your desk, you think: “No problem, I can handle it.” The second and third requests cause a little self-doubt. Soon, you don’t even know how many projects you have on your to-do list.

Does this scenario sound familiar? How can you cope when the projects pile up and the time is short? Learn today how to prioritize your work assignments efficiently and keep your cool.

In a typical day, hundreds of responsibilities vie for your attention. However, not all work tasks are equally significant. You need to prioritize them, ASAP. Priorities take precedence because they are the worthiest pursuits among many competing tasks. To give priorities the special attention they deserve, you must first decide what they are. Finishing a project is a goal. Priorities are more all-encompassing than a single undertaking; they are life values that influence your actions and decisions as you strive toward them.

For example, if your priority is punctuality, you will avoid distractions and finish projects on time in pursuit of that value. Before you read on, ask yourself: “What is my true priority for my career?”

How to Decide What You Should Do First

Steven Pressfield, author of The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks & Win Your Inner Creative Battles explains the principle of priority: “(A) You must know the difference between what is urgent and what is important, and (B) you must do what’s important first. Urgent tasks appear on your task list to address a pressing issue or because they require immediate attention or response. For example, imagine a group of IT technicians have a list of five tasks on their agenda for the day—install current anti-virus software on all the computers, find a funny tech meme for the lunchroom bulletin board contest, set up an account for a new employee starting today, order a replacement part for a broken computer, and stop by the office of someone who requested support. To be most efficient, they should first determine whether each item is urgent or important.

You might think that all the tasks are urgent and important.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who used the priority principle throughout his military and political career, challenged this belief, “What is important is seldom urgent, and what is urgent is seldom important.” The main difference is that important tasks support our long-term purpose, values, and objectives.

Urgent tasks are extremely time-sensitive, but they may not do anything to help us accomplish our goals. For example, the lunchroom contest poster urges the IT team to “Enter before Friday at noon!” but whether they do or not won’t affect their professional mission. They should eliminate the chore or begin it only when they have done everything else on their to-do list. What urgent tasks can you postpone or scratch off your daily schedule?

Let’s return to the IT team’s other four tasks. If their overall purpose is to keep the office network up and running, they will mark the new employee account and the support request as “important.” The affected employees won’t be able to continue their work which, in turn, could slow down the whole operation. The technicians need to order the part and update the software as soon as possible, but these assignments are of a lower priority than the new account and support request.

You might be looking at your agenda thinking, “I have too many important tasks!” In Stephen Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, you will find a matrix to help you sort your crucial duties. First, tackle tasks that are important and urgent. Next, prioritize tasks that are important, but not urgent. After you completed everything important, you can work on some of the urgent but non-essential concerns.

How to Reduce Your Volume of Tasks

Is it possible to limit the urgency of an important task? Absolutely, you can lessen the pressure of a deadline if you plan intelligently. Often, you receive notice of deadlines weeks or months in advance. Don’t wait until the last minute to start working. Chunk your task into its components and schedule them in a logical order.

Things break unexpectedly, but sometimes you can prevent important fixes from becoming urgent by scheduling regular maintenance. For instance, if our imaginary IT team performed weekly checks and educated employees about fixing minor repairs, support requests and broken computers would be less frequent. Can you arrange your schedule to accommodate planning and maintenance?

You have the potential to be extremely efficient. Reading this article proves that you have an interest. The next step is putting its advice into practice.

Decide what your priorities are, and allow them to influence how you act. Focus on important tasks, and put urgent ones in their place. Your stress will decrease in proportion to the pile of work on your desk. And who knows, you might even finish ahead of deadline!

It’s Time to End Grammar Trolling

During a recent discussion here at Grammarly HQ, someone on the team asked a very good question: is there actually a difference between correcting someone’s grammar and being a grammar troll?

As a copy editor by trade, I have a strong opinion on this one. Yes! Of course there’s a difference!

A good editor, a caring teacher, or an upstanding grammar lover offers corrections that are helpful, polite, and appropriate. A grammar troll insults, mocks, or tries to embarrass another person for making an error. It’s time for that to stop.

But the Internet is destroying proper English! the grammar trolls whine. Everyone is just too stupid! Somebody has to draw the line!

Actually, English is doing just fine. Ask any actual linguist. And everyone is not too stupid. Misspelling a word, making a grammatical error, or even writing a sentence that’s hard to understand doesn’t make you stupid. But insulting someone for making a mistake does make you a grammar troll. And a jerk.

I don’t care! Part of me dies every time I see the word IRREGARDLESS, cry the grammar trolls.

Wow. Aren’t you special.

Consider this: Maybe the person on the other side of the screen is a nonnative speaker who is trying hard to learn English. Maybe it’s someone who speaks a dialect of English that’s different from your own. Maybe they have a different educational background than you do. They could have a disability that makes writing or typing difficult. Maybe they do, in fact, know the difference between to and too but accidentally mistyped.

Ugh, my eyes are bleeding, the grammar trolls sneer. You just used the singular “they.”

Yep! I do it all the time—proudly. So far, exactly zero people have died because of it.

PEOPLE? The Elements of Style clearly states that it should be PERSONS.

Listen, Strunk and White were full of baloney. They couldn’t even identify the passive voice correctly.

You’re a moron and I hate you!

That’s what it really comes down to, isn’t it? Grammar trolls claim that they just want to uphold the standards of proper English. But if that were true, they’d offer polite, respectful suggestions instead of contempt. Why would I change what I say and write just because of some rude, angry stranger? Why would anyone? Grammar trolls don’t want to fix anything. They do what they do because they feel smart when they shame others.

But what if you really do just want to help people write better? What if you’re convinced the typo on the sign in the window of your favorite diner is hurting business? What if you enjoyed someone’s blog post, but there’s a typo the writer missed? What’s a well-meaning grammar lover to do? Here’s what you do: BE NICE. Don’t be rude. Don’t be mean. Don’t be condescending. Just be nice. Tell someone about the mistake if it’s important, and if it’s not, let it go.

If you’re not sure how to be nice, or if you’re a penitent grammar troll without a lot of practice showing kindness, read on. We’ve got all the tips you need in one handy infographic.

Now go out there and give grammar lovers a good name. And if you have a tip for fighting grammar trolls, share it in the comments section!

Five Books that Will Make You a Better Communicator

How do you feel when you can’t communicate your ideas or emotions? If you find it frustrating, why not make a study of communication skills? Learning to communicate is like learning to swim. You progress from breathing exercises in a few feet of water to practicing laps in deeper water. Before you know it, you’re ready for the diving board. Let’s review some books, starting with some simple fixes based on personal experiences. Next, we’ll consider some books written by accomplished researchers in the field. With a bit of practice, you’ll be speaking and writing better in no time.

How to Talk to Anyone: 92 Little Tricks for Big Success in Relationships by Leil Lowndes

Most small things are less intimidating than their full-sized versions. For example, you might not be as scared of a baby tiger as you would be of its mom. Likewise, the niney-two tips featured in this how-to guide are “little” achievable goals. The author explains: “I found concrete building blocks to the elusive qualities that lead to . . . success. Then, I broke them down into easily digestible news-you-can-use techniques.” She organized the tricks into nine chapters, which include personal anecdotes, making it a quick and interesting read. Even if you don’t need every single trick, you’re sure to find something applicable. For example, the thirtieth trick, “How to Avoid Sounding Like a Jerk,” has universal appeal. This book isn’t too serious. Read it if you want to dip your toes into the waters of better speech.

Fierce Conversations: Achieving Success at Work and in Life One Conversation at a Time by Susan Scott

According to Boss magazine, Susan Scott wasn’t prepared for the “strong opinions and egos” of some CEOs when she started coordinating think tanks. With no background in consulting to fall back on, her early encounters were a trial by fire. However, she learned to interact with powerful people and to motivate them to accomplish company goals. Fierce Conversations shares the principles of conversation that she credits for her success. Whether it’s a group of coworkers facing a disagreement or a married couple making a decision, anyone can use communication skills to enrich a relationship. Scott’s principles can be applied to any situation. For example, people often complain that they constantly repeat the same conversation. According to the fourth principle, the issue occurs because of two factors. First, the conversants haven’t identified the underlying issue. “The problem named is the problem solved. Identify and then confront the real obstacles in your path.” Second, avoiding the challenge leads to emotional fatigue which only weakens their ability to solve the problem in future conversations. “Burnout doesn’t occur because we’re solving problems; it occurs because we’ve been trying to solve the same problem over and over.” What is the real issue underlying one of your recurring discussions with a coworker or friend?

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

What’s this book doing on the list? No, it’s not a communication guide, but it does feature a character who can teach you a lot about interacting with others. The protagonist, Elizabeth Bennet, is the second-oldest daughter of a country gentleman. She tackles many sticky issues of her day—social standing, women’s education, and morality, to name a few. When she butts heads with her mother about if and when to marry, she needs to rely on her wit and charm. Her relationship with another character, Fitzwilliam Darcy, also provides fertile topics for analysis. Despite a series of misunderstandings and miscommuniqués, she finds herself attracted and repelled by the handsome Darcy. Don’t read this novel as a voyeur. Imagine that you are either the proud Darcy or the stubborn Elizabeth. Swim right into the pages of the story, and you will find yourself analyzing your present-day interactions. Do you have all the facts before you speak? Do your words reveal your true feelings?

Foreign to Familiar: A Guide to Understanding Hot- And Cold-Climate Cultures by Sarah A. Lanier

How does your culture affect the way you communicate and perceive others? This question takes us firmly out of the shallow end! The author moved from the United States to the Middle East at a young age and later worked with an international organization. She observed that the climate of a country seems to have an effect on its norms for behavior and social relations. For instance, cold climates tend towards direct communication. In other words, you might receive a simple yes or no to a question. On the other hand, warm cultures value being friendly as much as answering the question. As a form of politeness, they may indicate that the answer is yes even though it’s really no! Many travelers use the book, but anyone who lives or works with different cultures may appreciate its well-researched insight.

100 Ways to Improve Your Writing by Gary Provost

Writing well is just as important as speaking well. This book, published in the 1980s, is a classic guide to effective writing. Principles of good writing never go out of style. Gary Provost, a prolific writer of twenty-four books in various genres, is famous for bringing out the musicality of written language with the following quote: “This sentence has five words. Here are five more words. Five-word sentences are fine. But several together become monotonous. Listen to what is happening. The writing is getting boring. The sound of it drones. It’s like a stuck record. The ear demands some variety. Now listen. I vary the sentence length, and I create music.” Would you like your writing to be as appealing as a pleasant tune? Dive into this oldie-but-goodie!

Don’t throw your hands up in frustration if you can’t convey your thoughts and emotions as precisely as you would like. Instead, make a study of written and verbal communication. Like a young child learning to swim, you will soon gain confidence and skill as you practice the skills suggested by these communication experts.

Not-So-Sweet 16 Game 7: Passive-Aggressive Notes vs. Loud Music

We’re nearing the end of the Not-So-Sweet 16, and so far, we’ve had some fierce battles over everything from emojis to interrupting your coworkers. But we’re not done yet! Today’s voting presents the last two battles of the season, and they’re both going to be nail-biters.

For this match, we have a classic debate between silent passive aggression and overtly aggressive, loud music. Which do you hate more? Make your point of view known (quietly) below.

Passive-Aggressive Notes:

We all know them. Some of us even make Tumblrs about them. These are the sticky notes on the fridge, your desk, or the snack area that say something that seems polite but is actually petty.

Loud Music

Not everyone enjoys music while they work, and no one likes listining to a second-hand beat buzzing indecipherably from a neighbor’s headphones. Heaven forbid, someone decides to turn the office into a club, blaring their music over speakers.

7 Books Every Student Should Read Before Entering the Workforce

Unless you’re really lucky, you’ll have some time between taking your last step out of your college and your first step into a new job. You can spend that time trying to have as much fun as you can, basically prolonging the college experience as long as possible. You can spend that time trying to figure things out, yourself included. You can travel, paint, or volunteer. You can do a lot of things, but what you can’t do is escape the fact that, unless you have a trust fund, you’ll have to join the workforce (cue Pink Floyd’s “Welcome to the Machine”). It will be a big change, and it might be tough. Luckily, there’s a tool we humans use to extend our knowledge to others and pass it down to coming generations: books. The right book at the right time can give you guidance, advice, inspiration, or words of warning for this transition.

1 This Is Water: Some Thoughts, Delivered on a Significant Occasion, about Living a Compassionate Life by David Foster Wallace David Foster Wallace, a writer (and the world’s foremost bandana wearer, aside from Tupac), gave a commencement speech at Kenyon College back in 2005. This speech, titled “This is Water,” was posthumously published in the form of a book, and if you can read only one book on this list, it should be this one. In a very smart and thoroughly human way, Wallace captures the post-college human condition experienced by people who are a part of the workforce, and gives thoughtful advice about making the most out of it.

2 How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie A self-help book from the 1930s that’s still as influential as it’s ever been, Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People is a must-read for everyone whose work will include any form of contact with people. The book will teach you how to win friends and influence people, just as the title says, and you can imagine how helpful that might be with coworkers, clients, and customers. Previous editions had sections about writing effective business letters and marital satisfaction, but those were dropped in more recent editions. You have this blog to help you with business writing; for the marital thing, you’re on your own.

3 A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf There’s more than one reason you should read Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own. The sheer guts she displayed by giving lectures about lesbianism, feminism, and gender inequalities is one reason. The fact that women are still paid less than men to do the same jobs around the world is another one. And it also carries the lesson that, no matter your gender or occupation or the hardships you face, you should fight to carve out a room of your own, a place for your passions.

4 Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain Those who aren’t particularly outgoing and tend to keep to themselves might think they won’t have a nice time joining the workforce. According to Susan Cain, they might be onto something, because it seems that today’s culture prefers extroverts. In Quiet, Cain aims to show the folly of such an approach while also giving introverts plenty of tips on how to find their way in this culture. This book aims to change minds, so extroverted college graduates should read it as well.

5 Personal Finance for Dummies by Eric Tyson Starting to earn money is one thing; learning how to manage it is a completely different thing. What to do and what not to do with your personal finances is something that’s best learned before you actually have personal finances, and Eric Tyson’s book will provide plenty of good advice about what’s ahead of you in your professional and financial life.

6 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey Another self-help classic, Covey’s seven habits have been so influential that they garnered him an invitation from President Bill Clinton for a chat about ways to implement the seven habits in his presidency. What makes the book so influential is that it carefully balances independence and interdependence, giving advice on how to prioritize personal goals, but also how to use empathetic listening to understand others.

7 Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do by Studs Terkel The last book of the list is a book in which people talk about their work and how it makes them feel. Studs Terkel’s masterpiece is an oral history that delivers exactly what it promises—regular people with regular thoughts about their jobs. The jobs the people in the book have are widely varied, so you’ll read the thoughts of a piano tuner on one page and the musings of a tennis player on another. And even though it was written in 1974, it’s still a very valuable resource for you, the person about to join the workforce.