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How do you work out what are the most important tasks to complete at any one given time? It is very easy to be fooled by tasks that feel important and urgent. Stephen Covey (2004) in his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, outlines ways to identify the tasks that will yield the greatest results in the longer term. Many of the things that feel very important and urgent - like emails, messages and phone calls - often are not. Additionally many tasks become crises (and therefore urgent) precisely because we didn't prioritiste them and get them done first (think back to that statement "I work best under pressure").

Thinking about your tasks in terms of the bigger picture that you established with your semester planner can help you prioritise. What do you need to be working in this week in order to complete all the assessment tasks? Which ones are the most important or have the highest value?

Once you have prioritised, you might want to consider these tips from Brian Tracy (2004):

• Try writing your to-do list the night before and then get everything ready that you will need. That way when you sit down the next day you are ready to get started straight away - no excuses!
• Highlight the important tasks that you have identified - work out an order of importance.
• It is tempting to put off the harder, bigger tasks but if they are important, shouldn't you get them done first? Don't be tempted to do all the easy tasks first as that way you may never get to most important one.

It's useful to have master lists for bigger tasks - particularly when you first start university study and you are still learning what is required and how much time it takes for you to complete certain tasks. From your master lists, you will be able to compile a list for the particular day or study block. 

Think about a typical university essay. Here's a possible break down of the separate tasks needed to complete the essay:

1. Preparation - understand the task
2. Background research - identify key debates
3. Closer research - decide on argument
4. Structure and plan
5. First draft
6. Edit 
7. Submit to Turnitin - make adjustments if needed
8. Final submission

Now work out how long you might need for each task and whether you need to seek further resources (check with your tutor, talk to a Librarian, make an appointment to see a Learning Adviser). These task oriented lists then help you work out what you need to put on your daily/study block to-do list. So on a given day, your to-do list will be made up of a number of items that you have prioritised from your task lists. 

It's useful to use these type of lists early as you are establishing your routine but it doesn't have to be rigid and you may find as you develop habits you may not need to rely on lists as much.