Determining what should be at the top of your list is especially challenging at the busiest time of the term when everything feels urgent. Taking a moment to take stock of priorities will help you schedule and complete critical assignments.

Stephen Covey, from his best-seller, Seven habits of highly effective people, shares a metaphor for prioritizing. Take an empty jar; fill it with sand. Then, try to add small rocks and large rocks without going over the jar top. What will happen? The larger rocks won’t fit. However, if you take the same jar and add the largest rocks first, followed by the smaller rocks, and then pour the original amount of sand on top, you’ll fit everything in.

When you prioritize the important “big rocks” of life (e.g. your assignments, your exams, your relationships), you’ll experience greater satisfaction and make progress on your goal achievement. The lesser important “sand” (non-urgent activities) will flow around the “big rocks” (priorities).

To prioritize items on our task list, try using this matrix to decide:

Decide on whether tasks are:

• Important and urgent: A task is critically important and needs to be managed immediately
• Important and non-urgent: A task is critically important but can wait
• Non-important and urgent: A less critical task that needs to be done soon
• Non-important and non-urgent: An unimportant task that can wait

 In what quadrant might each of the following activities appear?

• Watching the Grey Cup game
• Spending time with a friend from high school
• Calling 911 for a friend who’s having an allergic reaction
• Texting a classmate to see if he wants to buy your textbook

Uncovering the “big rocks” of life and categorizing tasks using the values matrix will clarify what you need to focus on first. Sometimes, it’s helpful to talk through your process with someone who has experience prioritizing tasks. You could meet with a friend or family member, or you might wish to book a free appointment with one of our CAC team members.