I've been thinking about time management lately (doesn't everyone begin to do that when it seems there isn't enough time get anything done?)  I recall a discussion I had with a manager a few years ago who asked, “Do you do the easy things on your to do list first, then the hard ones, or do you start with the hard ones and then go to the easy ones?”  When I asked him what he meant he said, “Well, you know.  You have 20 items on your list.  If you do the hard ones first, you may only get two things done today.  On the other hand, if you do the quick and easy ones, you can click off 18 or so.  That means you got everything done today except two things.”

He was serious.

All of the items on your to-do list are important, or they wouldn't be there in the first place (you are making yourself a to-do list, aren't you?!?)  But just because they're all important doesn't mean they're all equally important.  Obviously, prioritizing your list as “easy” and “hard” is a bad way to do it.  The right way (IMHO) is prioritize them by what brings you closest to your goals.  If the stuff that brings me closer to my goals gets done, I'm on the right track.  If I spend my day doing the stuff that's least likely to bring me closer to my goals, then the day was a waste.

Try asking yourself, “Which of these things will bring me closest to my goals?”  Do that thing first, and your days will be much more productive.