In today’s busy life, one is forced to juggle multiple tasks including taking up different responsibilities at the same time. Besides our careers and goals, we also desire to accomplish other personal goals. Having multiple tasks at the same time can be overwhelming, and even worse when you try to multitask in a random way, this is where prioritising comes in. Prioritising becomes essential as it helps in deciding which tasks to be tackled or focused on first. It simply means, choosing which task to work on first, basing on its urgency. Dr Opiyo Andala, an educator at Mount Kenya University believes that there is a need to come up with an agenda and decide the time it will take, and when you expect to achieve your target. This, he says simplifies things for you as it becomes easier to achieve whatever you have set to do, not forgetting to help you save time too. This will help you come up with a clear picture of how much time you have and also the time you will spend on achieving your goals. “To achieve anything in life, there is a need to establish priorities. This habit also allows you to give your attention to tasks that are important and urgent so that you can later focus on others at your own pace,” he says. Augustin Manirakiza, a medical student who also juggles as a pharmacist in Kigali, is of the view that for those who always get things done wrong, it all starts with not setting priorities. He says that when you come up with goals and when to accomplish them, it’s essential as it provides you with focus and motivation to even work harder in other areas. According to Manirakiza, planning is the key to helping you meet those goals, as well as helping you determine what tasks need to be done and when, thus keeping you on the right track. “I believe that once one makes up their mind on what they want to accomplish, it also means that they are dedicated to whatever tasks await them ahead. This will also make your life easier thus more time to get involved in other activities aside from work,” he says. Meanwhile, Manirakiza points out that it has been established that working on your priorities also helps increase your productivity at the workplace. Here, he explains that when you are dedicated and concentrated on your task, it will help accelerate the process of accomplishing all your tasks, thus allowing you to complete whatever you have set to do within the shortest time possible. Studies also show that increased productivity will help you get done with work earlier. For this reason, one can be able to spare some time for other things like socialising. Besides, it has also been established that knowing what exactly you want and how you will achieve it helps boost one’s motivation. This is believed to happen once one sees that their productivity has increased, they will feel happier about being able to complete their tasks on time. It also makes them feel capable enough to move on to the next task and complete it on time too.
