Umm... Ill Do It Later...

Don’t you always feel like your schedule is always full? One thing pilling on to another and on to another, it can be so overwhelming. I know personally I feel like my list of to-dos is always full and when I get to the bottom I always need to make another one. If this is you, you need to look at Ranking Priorities. Ranking Priorities is a problem solving strategy that helps people categorize the multiple tasks and responsibilities that they have to complete. I really like this method because it not only applies to my academic life it also applies to my day-to-day schedule and duties.

Not only is this method effective but it also is easy to use. Firstly you create a list of everything that needs to be done. Then rank the items according to: A= absolutely essential, B= important, C= optional. After that all you need to do is then group the A’s, B’s and C’s and apply numbers to the tasks within the groups of the A’s, B’s and C’s (such as A1, B6 and C2). Finally the most difficult part, ACTUALLY COMPLETE THE TASKS!

For me personally this method really works because I am a visual learner. So having this list in a very structure and visually organized way helped me complete my tasks and see what I actually have to-do. This is also good for me because writing things down multiple times helps me to remember. Therefore, because of this I use the format above and I repeat it on post-its and place them all over my room and planner so that I cant lose focus.

Have you ever been sitting in your room, knowing you have an assignment or a test that has to be done or studied? However, you still feel the need to catch up on old TV shows you missed or go out with your friends? While both of the alternates seem more appealing that doing your work many fail to see the consequences to not getting your stuff done. A great strategy that I discovered that I connected whilst using Ranking Priorities is One Step at a Time. This strategy is great again for those visual learners like myself as it provides all the elements of a difficult situation. 

From looking at the picture you can see how I used this visually organized chart to see how the problem would have consequences and then the possible do’s and will do’s. Below I also added pictures of how I used methods to avoid failing my design history test (such as my elaborate PowerPoint notes and my spiral notecards from the 20 min test prep).