The ABC method is designed to organise your workload and ensure that you are spending your time completing the most time critical tasks. One of the main features of the ABC method is its flexibility and it can be used in conjunction with other systems such as Pareto Analysis, which will help you determine the importance of tasks.
Each task is assigned either A, B or C. This enables you to split your work into three categories rather than attempt to just wade through without any direction. These categories are defined as:
A: Tasks that are urgent and important — action immediately
B: Tasks that are important but not urgent — action once the A tasks completed
C: Tasks that are neither urgent nor important — save these for a rainy day.
Within each category, you can then go deeper and apply the tasks to a hierarchy — A-1, A-2, A-3, B-1, B-2, B-3, C-1, C-2, C3, and so on. Where each task sits within the structure is dependent upon a number of criteria. Your deadline, the quality of work required, and the stakeholders involved will all determine whether you consider something both urgent and important, or simply one of the two. A task that is required in three days and will take 30 minutes to complete may be considered important, but not especially urgent. However, a task that is due in six months but requires months of planning, design and execution, will be both urgent and important.
As with most time management techniques, the planning stage is vital to get right. Beyond simply helping you remember your deadlines, this method is a good way to teach yourself good work habits. Tasks that slot into category B will eventually become category A tasks, which makes it important to reassess your priorities on a daily basis. Take time each morning to determine what tasks you need to complete that day to ensure you are starting with a clear direction. This will in turn yield greater productivity as there will be less instances of being unsure of what to do next, and allows you to view your workday as part of the larger picture.