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Prioritisation Task 10


You have woken up late for work, and only have time to complete 5 of the following 15 tasks that you would normally complete. Which of the 5 tasks would you choose to do before leaving home?
 
  1. Hit  your alarm’s snooze button
  2. Brush your teeth
  3. Make your coffee
  4. Have a shower
  5. Iron your clothes
  6. Get dressed
  7. Have Breakfast
  8. Make your bed
  9. Drink a glass of water
  10. Exercise
  11. Make a to-do-list
  12. Feed your pet
  13. Check emails/messages
  14. Call your mother
  15. Call your best friend
    ​

​Excellent Candidate Response
‘BlackStone Tutors 5 Step Approach to Prioritisation Tasks’
  1. Review the options available
  2. Identify your 5 preferred items/the ideal order to complete the tasks
  3. Explain why you have chosen these options/this order (making your explanations as specific as possible to the task, eg. Why some tasks are ranked highly)
  4. Explain why you did not choose the other options/why they are ranked lower
  5. Possible further mentions:
                If additional item/options were permitted, I would also consider taking….
                Alternatively, if the task were based in ………….I would prioritise taking……….

​I would brush my teeth, have a shower, get dressed, drink a glass of water, and feed my pet
 
  • Brushing my teeth and having a shower are tasks that I would definitely choose to do because cleanliness is essential and cannot be compromised under any conditions.
  • There is no alternative to getting dressed and I would have to choose this task as well, but I would skip ironing my clothes and wear something that doesn’t need to be ironed instead. It is likely that I would have chosen to iron my clothes if I could choose more than 5 actions.
  • I would also drink water because I need to stay hydrated and I would otherwise feel lethargic given that there will be a delay in me having my breakfast and coffee. I wouldn’t have my breakfast and coffee because this is something that I can do after I leave my house.
  • Feeding my pet isn’t something that I can ignore. Although feeding it may take time, it would be irresponsible and cruel to leave my pet hungry at home just because I woke up late.
  • I wouldn’t hit the snooze button because I am already late and it isn’t something that would get me any positive results for my day’s progress, especially when I am already late.
  • Making my bed in the current scenario would be unnecessary because I can do that when I get back home without it negatively affecting myself or anyone else.
  • Exercising and making a to-do-list are also two tasks that aren’t urgent and hence I could skip exercises for a day and I can make a to-do-list en route to work or once I have reached my destination.
  • I wouldn’t check my emails or messages because similarly I can do that after I leave home. Although I would have chosen to quickly glance over my emails or messages if I had the option in order to make sure I haven’t missed anything personal or official that may require my urgent attention.
  • With regards to calling my mother and best friend, these are ‘luxury tasks’ which are not necessarily time sensitive and as such they can be completed later in the day when I am less time pressured, and I can allocate these important people the appropriate time.​