There are only so many hours in a day. I think that I must finally come to terms with that. My dilemma is, of all the things I could do today, which one should I choose to do “next”?
How to decide:
- Profit
We are all in business, and one of the necessities of any business is the creation of profit. Without profit, you will not have a business for very long. I tend to subscribe to the theory that we all need a motive to be in business, and that motive is not profit, but profit is a necessity, just as oxygen is a necessity for life, but it is not life itself.
So, we all have a reason to be in business. I know that I do, and it has a lot to do with being in control of my own destiny, sinking or swimming by my own efforts and not pinning my colours to somebody else’s mast. But I know that we must make a profit, and it is quite nice to see that in the monthly management accounts.
But how far should profit be a motive in prioritising workload?
- Time Limits
In our line of work, there are always filing deadlines, whether it be tax returns or accounts. Failure to meet these deadlines could result in late filing penalties, and you are not going to be very happy with us. So, this is something that we take very seriously. But in as much as this is part of our normal routine, it is something that I can leave others to deal with and just need to check it is done.
But what about a grant application that needs financial projections, and there is a filing deadline for the application, after which the door closes, and the grant is lost? That’s a hard one, and it depends on all the other criteria, and comes down to a consideration of risk, reward, and the consequences of doing or not doing the task.
- Effect
Should I be considering what effect my next task will have either on my own fortunes or those of my client? What will be the short or long-term effect of either doing or not doing that task next?
It might be that doing it will not be particularly profitable for me, but it has a major impact on your wellbeing. What if I make nothing out of it, but it keeps you trading and still in the game to fight another day?
- The Squeaky Hinge
Sometimes I will be asked to do something which, on the face of it, should be low priority, but in your eyes is very important. I might not necessarily agree because I can see the bigger picture and the landscape of all the tasks I could be performing. But you might be quite insistent, and I feel the pressure of your demands. If I get their job out of the way, I can relax and not have to worry about the next phone call. I am sure that you will agree that this happens from time to time, but of course not from you.
- Positive Result
If I perform the task, will there definitely be a positive result? Is there a risk that, after putting in a lot of time and effort, working out of normal hours to get it done, nothing might come of it, and the whole effort might be in vain?
Occasionally, a project comes along that I know I can influence and have a significant impact, but the final decision, the result, is out of my control. It may be that I am on a no-win, no-fee pricing structure, and at the end of all that work, I get absolutely nothing out of it.
I must admit that this is a consideration, but then it comes back to risk and reward.
- Personal Projects
Maybe it’s a project that we are a part of and, if it works, could generate a big pay-off sometime in the distant future. These are possibly the hardest tasks to prioritise because experience has shown that most of these fledgling projects don’t fly at the end of the day, but this could be the one!
We want to, but should we?
Like so many decisions, the final choice is likely to come down to consideration of a number of criteria, and at the end of the day, unlikely to be logical. You can list out all the possible tasks you could perform next, but how many of you have a cold, logical system for deciding which one to choose?
I have heard it said that you should choose the single most important task at that moment in time, but you still must decide on the relative importance of each one to you.
I suspect that in the absence of a single overpowering critical factor, what it will come down to is …. we all make a decision and then use logic to justify it.
Are we logical creatures? I will leave you to ponder that question. Next!
Alan E Long
The Long Partnership
07770 738770
