Time Management: 24 Techniques to Make Each Minute Count at Work

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Prioritize with payoffs

A fourth option for prioritizing is the payoff system.

“What’s the payoff?” That is the essential question when you prioritize, according to Stephanie Winston, author of Getting Organized. In the payoff approach, you treat your use of time in terms of financial value and return, which makes measurable sense.

Here’s how this system works. The tasks listed below represent a spectrum of “value” with payoffs ranging from high to low. The yield may not always be financial; there are other kinds of value to consider: ...