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How to prioritise a to-do list: urgent vs important A long to-do list can feel overwhelming. Sorting tasks by how urgent (needs doing soon) and how important (matters for your goals) they are tells you what to do first — and what to stop doing.
Ages 11+ (rough guide)
Level Everyday
Subject Planners & Organisation
Time 10–15 minutes
Format Online + printable 1 Learn it2 See it worked3 Try it online4 Print it5 Check your answerBefore you start
Who it's for and what to know first Have a list of things you need to do this week.
Urgent and important: do it now — a deadline tomorrow, a bill due today. Important but not urgent: schedule it — revision for an exam in three weeks, exercise, planning. Most progress happens here. Urgent but not important: delegate it or keep it quick — some messages and interruptions. Neither urgent nor important: drop it, or save it as a reward. Break big tasks into steps you can finish in under 30 minutes, and write the very first step. Pick a maximum of three priorities per day so the list stays realistic. Worked example 1
Sort: essay due tomorrow; revise for a test in 3 weeks; reply to a group chat meme; book a dentist appointment for next month. Essay due tomorrow — urgent and important: do it now. Revision in 3 weeks — important, not urgent: schedule it. Book the dentist — important, not urgent: schedule it (a two-minute job, so do it soon). Meme reply — neither: drop it or do it as a break. Answer: Now: essay. Schedule: revision, dentist. Drop: meme.
Try it online · print it · check it
Practice questions Everyday · ages 11+
Prioritising a to-do list Name Date
Answer with: do it now, schedule it, delegate it or drop it.
1. Urgent and important 2. Important but not urgent 3. Urgent but not important 4. Neither urgent nor important 5. Revise for an exam in three weeks 6. Assignment due tomorrow morning 7. Scrolling videos when bored Answer with: do it now, schedule it, delegate it or drop it.
1. Urgent and important do it now 2. Important but not urgent schedule it 3. Urgent but not important delegate it 4. Neither urgent nor important drop it 5. Revise for an exam in three weeks schedule it 6. Assignment due tomorrow morning do it now 7. Scrolling videos when bored drop it Treating everything as urgent. Never scheduling the important-but-not-urgent tasks until they become emergencies. Writing vague tasks like ‘science’ instead of ‘make 10 flashcards on cells’. Last reviewed: 25 September 2026
