Welcome to the Breakout Business English Podcast, where I help you to communicate better at work in English.
Hi everyone. My name is Chris and I am a business English coach and tutor.
Thank you so much for listening.
And today's topic is prioritizing.
So we talk a lot about definitions and vocabulary on this podcast so let's start by defining our topic today.
What does it mean to prioritize?
Well when you prioritize something you decide that it is more important than other things.
So prioritizing is when you decide how important or urgent all of your different tasks are.
We can use this as a verb.
For example, we need to prioritize this task and we don't need to prioritize that other task.
Or we can use it as a noun as in this task is a priority and that task isn't a priority.
If you're anything like me then maybe you use a to -do list to prioritize your day.
You might decide that tasks that other people are relying on you to do are of high priority and maybe things that you just want to do for yourself are a lower priority.
Prioritizing can be a difficult task in itself, so let's look at some vocabulary and sentence structures that we can use to talk about it.
Let's start today with some ideas for how to explain that something is a priority.
We're going to some really natural and native sounding sentences that we can use to tell our colleagues that something is a priority.
Then we'll discuss some of the vocabulary.
Let's take a look. I think this needs to take precedence over everything else we're working on.
I think this needs to take precedence over everything else we're working on.
This is definitely our primary concern until it's finished.
This is definitely our primary concern until it's finished.
I think we need to drop everything and work on this I think we need to drop everything and work on this this is a really pressing issue please keep me updated on how it's going this is a really pressing issue please keep me updated on how it's going.
OK, there was some great vocabulary in there, both formal and informal.
So let's start with the word precedence.
Precedence. We heard in that first example, this needs to take precedence.
Precedence is a noun, that means that something is more important than a else.
You can see that we use it with the verb take, to take precedence.
Just like we watch movies and cook food the correct verb for precedence is take.
You'll also notice in our example that I mentioned the things that were less important than this I mentioned everything else we're working on.
To add this to the sentence we used the word over so things take precedence over other things.
Let's move on now to something less formal.
In the third example we heard the phrase drop everything.
To drop everything.
I really like this one because not only can you really picture why this phrase works but it's also just funny to think of someone literally dropping whatever they are holding to do something more important.
If we tell someone to drop everything then we mean that they should stop whatever they are doing, cancel all of their other scheduled tasks or meetings, and concentrate exclusively on this new task or event.
So, the next time you want someone's full commitment, their full attention, then maybe you can tell them to drop everything.
We also had there an and this is to describe something as pressing pressing maybe you've heard the noun pressure as in we've got a big deadline coming up and we're under a lot of pressure we've got a big deadline coming up and we're under a lot of You can think of the word pressing as the same thing but in the form of an adjective.
If you describe something as pressing then you either mean that the task itself needs completing quickly or that someone else is putting you under a pressure to complete it.
That could be a manager or a client or a customer for instance.
Therefore if you are under pressure to complete a task then we can describe that thing as a pressing task.
This is a pressing task.
Before we move on don't forget that my full -time job is helping international professionals who use English at work to improve their communication skills, so if you need English to do your job but don't speak it natively then maybe we can work together to help you to achieve your language and communication goals.
If you'd like to book some of my time to meet with me through one -on -one video calls then you can go to breakoutbusinessenglish .com and find out more.
Also I sometimes have offers and discounts on packages of classes, packages of meetings with me.
And entering your email address on the website is the best way to find out first before anyone else when those limited time deals are available.
I have worked with over 1 ,000 non -native English speakers from new graduates up to CEOs and elected government leaders to help them to achieve their goals and I look forward to meeting with you and working together to help you achieve yours.
Okay let's going and next I want to give you an idea maybe even a recommendation.
Then we're going to look at some vocabulary to apply it.
Time blocking is a technique where you take your day divide it into small segments, small blocks for specific things that you want to do.
The idea here is that if you say that you're going to do something between 3 pm and 4 pm then you are much more likely to do it than if you just decided to do it without scheduling a specific time.
This is an idea that dates back hundreds, if not thousands of years.
We know, for instance, that the American inventor Benjamin Franklin organized his days in this way.
Let's take a look at some natural and native ways to talk about time blocking in a calendar.
I'm going to pencil that in for tomorrow at 3 pm.
I'm going to pencil that in for tomorrow at 3 pm.
I need to allocate some time in my schedule to finish this.
I need to allocate some time in my schedule to finish this.
I've already booked that slot so I'll need to move things around to fit this new task in.
I've already booked that slot so I'll need to move things around to fit this new task in.
I'll carve out some time later this week to review the details.
I'll carve out some time later this week to review the details.
Okay, we had a bunch of great vocabulary there, including a lot of phrasal verbs.
So, let's start with that first example where we heard I'm going to pencil that in for tomorrow at 3pm.
I'm going to pencil that in.
To pencil something in means to add it to your schedule.
However, we use this phrasal verb when we think that something might change before the scheduled time.
This is why the phrase uses pencil and not pen or ink.
With a pencil you can easily erase what you've written and remove it from your schedule.
That's definitely a lot more difficult with a pen.
So we use the phrasal verb pencil in to show that something is scheduled to happen and likely to happen but not guaranteed and plans could change.
Let's move on now to the word allocate allocate from our second example I need to allocate some time to this just like there are lots of phrasal verbs that we can use to describe this action there are also lots of formal words or maybe more professional words including maybe designate or assign for instance.
If you allocate something to a purpose, then you say that this resource is only to be used for that specific purpose.
I could allocate a member of staff to a project or allocate an office for a meeting.
We can also use this as a noun and say that we have an allocation of time an allocation of time for a specific purpose.
Okay let's do one more from these examples and let's discuss the phrasal verb to carve out to carve out.
This is another phrasal verb that you can really picture in your head.
The word carve is a verb that we use to discuss creating sculptures.
It's the word that we use to talk about cutting materials like wood or stone in order to create models of people or animals or maybe just to write something in the material.
So when we think of the phrasal verb to carve out we can literally think of someone using tools and a hammer and a chisel, maybe a knife, to cut away at that time or their schedule to allocate some time to a specific activity or event.
Okay, now that we've discussed things that are priorities let's discuss the opposite situation.
I'm going to give you some examples of how we can explain to a colleague that something is not a priority.
Then we can discuss some of the vocabulary that you heard. Let's put this on the back burner for the time being.
Let's put this on the back burner for the time being.
I think we can put this to one side and come back to it later.
I think we can put this to one side and come back to it later.
This can take a backseat to everything else on our to -do list. This can take a back seat to everything else on our to -do list. Let's start our vocabulary discussion here with the idiom to put something on the back burner which we heard in our first example to put something on the back burner.
When we talk about the back burner in this context we're referring to a hob.
A hob, or in American English a stove or maybe a stove top.
On top of an oven you will often find four burners.
These are where we put pans when we want to cook.
You might notice that the burners at the back of the stove are smaller.
Often when you're actively using a pan, then it's on one of the front burners.
Maybe you're adding an ingredient or mixing things when you're using these front burners.
However, when you want to cook something more slowly or just keep it warm, then you'll often move it to the back of the stove and leave it there until you need it.
We can apply this idea more broadly in the form of an idiom, just like a pan of sauce that I want to cook slowly or keep warm until I'm ready to use it.
If we put something on the back burner then we are saying that it's still important it will get done, however right now it's not our priority it's on the back burner.
I should say that we don't have the opposite idiom you can't really say to put something on the front burner that doesn't really work but if something is not a priority but you still want to get it done eventually then you can put it on the back burner.
in that third example we heard the idiom take a back seat as in this can take a back seat to everything else.
the idiom to take a back seat is thought to have first been used about 200 years ago and was used to talk about stagecoach travel in reference to the seats on a stagecoach. These were the kinds of small carriages that only held a few people and were pulled by horses, often for long journeys on roads that were, well not like roads we'd know today, more like dirt tracks.
So in these vehicles, the best seats were the ones in the front which allowed passengers to see the road ahead and have a better view of where they were going.
The seats in the back were less desirable because passengers had to endure a bumpy ride and were unable to see very well if at all.
Over time the idiom came to be used to mean that something was placed in a less important or weaker position compared to someone or something else.
Notice also that we used the word TO in order to connect this idiom to less important tasks.
For instance, this task is more important than that task.
That here you might be interested to know that the word priority at least in English was only really used as a singular noun for a very long time, not as a plural.
Priorities as a plural meaning more than one only really started to be used around the mid 1930s whereas the word priority goes back hundreds of years.
So it seems like before the 1930s people chose one thing and focused on it.
They had one priority.
The idea of having multiple priorities, three things that were priorities, was not really something that we said before the 1930s.
However, today we often talk about having multiple priorities.
I have priorities today.
It's interesting to see how the use of this word has changed as our world has become more complicated and the demands on our time have increased.
I certainly feel like I have more than one priority these days.
How you? Of course sometimes things just don't get done maybe they should have been done earlier and because you didn't prioritize your work or tasks correctly these tasks have become overdue or maybe deadlines have been missed.
Let's take a I've been meaning to get around to that all week.
I've been meaning to get around to that all week.
Wow! We really have left this until the 11th hour.
I've been procrastinating on this all morning.
I've been procrastinating on this all morning.
In the first example we heard the phrase to get around to something.
If we get around to something then this means that we should have done it earlier but we didn't.
Maybe there were more important things to do or maybe we were just avoiding it.
I don't know about you but personally I can be really bad at replying to messages from friends.
Sometimes it takes me days to get around to it, to get around to sending a reply.
I always think that I need to give a really good long reply, and that I need to spend a long time writing it.
I always get around to replying eventually, however.
Don't forget that get is an irregular verb, so we can't just add ed to the end.
The past tense form of get is got, therefore this phrase in the past tense Could sound like I finally got around to calling my brother yesterday.
I've been meaning to talk to him for weeks.
I finally got around to calling my brother yesterday.
I've been meaning to talk to him for weeks.
Let's talk about that phrase the eleventh hour.
In the examples we heard wow we really have left this until the 11th hour.
This phrase has a very long history but in simple terms means that you do something when there is very little time left before a deadline.
If you look at a clock then 11 o 'clock is always the last hour of well the last hour of the morning if it's 11 a .m the last hour of the day at 11 p .m. So, if you want to get something done that morning or that day then this is really your last opportunity.
Therefore, leaving something until there is not much time left before a deadline can be described as leaving it until the 11th hour.
In that third example we heard the verb procrastinate.
To procrastinate. It is rarely a good thing if you procrastinate, because procrastination means to delay or postpone something and do something less important.
If you don't have a problem with procrastination, then I'd say that you're a very lucky person.
I find myself procrastinating all the time.
I wanted to write this script for this podcast yesterday, but instead I ended up playing chess online.
Which is definitely something I end up doing when I'm procrastinating quite often.
Or maybe you know that you should be preparing for a meeting, but instead you go for a coffee with your colleague.
If you spend a lot of time procrastinating, then you will get very little work done.
In our example, we use the preposition on to connect procrastination to the task that we should be doing.
Listen again. I've been procrastinating on this all morning.
I've been procrastinating on this all morning.
One more time don't forget that my full -time job is helping international professionals who use English at work to improve their communication skills.
So if you need English to do your job but you don't speak it natively as your first language, then maybe we can work together to help you to achieve your language goals.
If you'd like to book some of my time to meet with me one -on -one, then you can go to BreakoutBusinessEnglish .com.
That's BreakoutBusinessEnglish .com and find out more.
also I sometimes have offers and discounts on class packages on packages of calls and entering your email address on the website is the best way to be the first to find out when those limited time deals are available.
I also occasionally send out emails letting you know when new podcasts are released and and also when interesting new videos come out on the Breakout Business English YouTube channel.
I have worked with over 1 ,000 non -native English speakers from graduates up to CEOs and government leaders to help them achieve their goals and I look forward to meeting you.
That's everything for today.
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