How I Prioritize Projects

Prioritizing projects while keeping up with the day-to-day of client support can lead to a hectic, seemingly 100mph day. As a Client Support Manager, responding to a variety of email requests, following up with manufacturers and processing paperwork all need to happen in real time as things come in. But the job isn’t all emails and case handling. I’m also curating our internal resources, investigating best practices, and creating new processes for an even more efficient team. I don’t know if you’ve read a hardware warranty recently, but it’s not the kind of thing you can skim and easily come away with an understanding. These are tasks that require deep work and focus. 

So how do I ensure my important projects are not lost in the sea of urgent emails and RMA paperwork at a bustling company such as Myriad? The answer may surprise you! 

Routine 

Establishing a daily routine has been paramount for me. Outlook always gets a whole monitor to itself; emails come in throughout the day and are my most urgent task. First, I read all the emails that have come in overnight and flag any that require action. Then I go over each of my open cases and send out follow-ups to manufacturers and update clients on the status of their requests, unflagging emails as I respond to them. Any emails flagged for action after each case has been updated then get addressed.  

This routine sets the day in motion ensuring that I don’t start the day behind the eight ball. With each case having been addressed first thing in the morning, I can then turn my full attention to my larger projects until a new case or email comes in.

Old-Fashioned Checklists 

There are a lot of really great productivity apps and services available these days, but there is a lot to be said for a handwritten checklist. I’ve tried dozens of apps and programs that I began using with enthusiasm, but quickly turned away from. Time and time again, I always go back to the handwritten list.  

For me, the handwritten list has some benefits that keep me engaged in a way that apps do not. Writing by hand engages the parts of the brain responsible for learning and creativity, plus, a physical list creates a concrete visual pathway through your tasks. Sometimes if I’m stuck on where to start while creating a new internal process, just the act of breaking it down into a list will make all the pieces fall into place for me.  

For a large project, I use checklists to break it down into smaller tasks to accomplish throughout the week or day, similar to an outline. For the most part, I try to keep the scope of each list to what needs to happen within the week. I use this system for work and home projects alike. For instance, if my tasks this week were to write a blog post and clean my kitchen my list might look something like this:

☐ Blog Post

☐ Research X,Y,Z
☐ Outline
☐ Write First Draft
☐ Add Hilarious Jokes
☐ Delete Dorky Jokes
☐ Source Images for X, Y, Z

☐ Clean Kitchen

☐ Dishes
☐ Clean Out Cabinets
☐ Clean Out Fridge
☐ Counters and Surfaces
☐ Sweep
☐ Mop

As I work my way through my checklist I may find that some tasks need to be expanded and in some cases migrated to the next week’s to-do list. Those items are marked with an arrow rather than a check and are continued into their own list (similar to bullet journaling).

☐ Blog Post ⇨

✓ Research X, Y, Z
✓ Outline

⇨Write First Draft ⇨

☐ Send Draft to Trusted Colleague
☐ Incorporate Feedback into Rewrite

⇨Source Images for X, Y, Z

In our increasingly more technologized workplace, sometimes in order to find the best tools to keep us organized and productive, we don’t have to look any further than a notebook and pen. Checking things off my list is also satisfying. I find the feeling when I am about to complete a task and I know I get to put a checkmark in one of the boxes on my list to be energizing.  

It’s easy to downplay the importance of prioritizing and breaking down tasks—especially when the tools are so simple—but it’s imperative to my role at Myriad to ensure nothing falls through the cracks.  I’m always looking for new ways to work smarter, but the key is consistency. The best tool for organization—whether it be the hottest technology or a simpler method like mine— is whichever one that you’ll use consistently.