PRIORITISING at work - How to talk about which tasks are important - Business English Class

Today's Business English class is about which tasks are important and which tasks are not important. We listen to native and natural English vocabulary and sentence structures that can help us to discuss prioritising our tasks with our colleagues at work. Prioritising our tasks and discussing what's important with our colleagues can be challenging for non native English speakers who use English as a second language, so let's study some ways to help you talk to your colleagues in a more natural and native sounding way.

Don't forget! Helping international English speakers to improve their communication skills is my full time job! If you use English at work and it's not your native or first language then consider booking a call with me and let's work together. To find out more, go to; https://www.breakoutbusinessenglish.com/start

https://www.breakoutbusinessenglish.com

Transcript

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’m a business English coach and tutor. Thank you so much for listening and today’s topic is prioritising.

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 prioritise? When you prioritise something you decide that it is more important than other things. So prioritising 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 prioritise this task and we don’t need to prioritise that task”, or we can use it as a noun, as in “this task is a priority, that task isn’t a priority”. If you’re anything like me then maybe you use a to do list to prioritise 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. Prioritising 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.

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Let's start today with some ideas for how to explain that something is a priority. We're going to hear 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” in that first example. We heard, “this needs to take precedence”. Precedence is a noun that means that something is more important than everything else. You can see that we use it with the verb “Take”. 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 that this. I mentioned “everything else that 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. I really like this one because, not only can you really picture why this phrase works, but also it’s just funny to think of someone literally dropping whatever they’re 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, maybe you can tell them to drop everything.

FInally we have an adjective, and this is to describe something as 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 pressure".

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 task itself needs completing quickly, or that someone else is putting you under a lot of pressure to complete it. That could be a manager or a customer for instance. Therefore, if you’re under pressure to complete a task then we can describe that thing as, “a pressing task”.

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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 goals. If you’d like to book some time to meet with me through 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 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’ve worked with over 1000 non-native English speakers, from new graduates up to CEOs and government leaders, to help them achieve their goals and I look forward to meeting you.

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OK, 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 and divide it into small segments or 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 3pm and 4pm then you're much more likely to do it than if you just decided to do it without scheduling the time. This is an idea that dates back hundreds, if not thousands of years. We know for instance that the American inventor Benjamin Franklin organised 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 3pm.

I'm going to pencil that in for tomorrow at 3pm.

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 it in.

I’ve already booked that slot, so I’ll need to move things around to fit it 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.

OK, we had a bunch of great vocabulary there, including a lot of phrasal verbs. 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 phrasal verb uses "pencil" and not pen or ink. With a pencil you can erase what you've written and remove it from your schedule. That's definitely a lot more difficult with pen! So we use the phrasal verb, "pencil in" to show that something is likely to happen, but not guaranteed.

Let's move on now to the word 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 more formal or professional words, including "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 for a specific purpose. 

Let's do one more and let's discuss the phrasal verb 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, 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 to cut away at their time or their schedule to allocate time to a specific activity or event. 

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OK, now that we’ve discussed how to describe 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 back seat 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. When we talk about the “back burner” in this context, we’re referring to a hob, or in American English, a stove. 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. 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, and eventually it will get done. However, right now it’s not our priority. It’s 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 "take a back seat" is thought to have about 200 years ago and was used to talk about stagecoach travel, in reference to the seats in a stagecoach. So these were the kinds of small carriages that only held a few people and were pulled by horses. 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, as 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 or someone 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 task can take a back seat to this task”.

While we’re here you might be interested to know that the word priority, for a long time, was only used as a singular noun. Not as a plural. Priorities, as a plural, only really started to be used around the mid 1930s. So it seems like before the 1930s people chose one thing and focussed on it. However, today we often talk about having multiple priorities. 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 about you?

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Of course, sometimes things just don’t get done. Maybe they should have been done earlier and because you didn’t prioritise your work or tasks correctly, tasks have become overdue or maybe deadlines have been missed. Let’s take a look at a couple of ways to talk about these challenging situations. 

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.

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 other more important things to do, or maybe we’ve just been 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! 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 11th 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 is always the last hour of the morning or the day. So if you want to get something done that morning or that day then this is 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 the script for this podcast yesterday but instead I ended up playing chess online. 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 used 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”.

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Once 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 don’t speak it natively then maybe we can work together to help you to achieve your language goals. If you’d like to book some time to meet with me through 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 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’ve worked with over 1000 non-native English speakers, from new graduates up to CEOs and government leaders, to help them achieve their goals and I look forward to meeting you.

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That’s everything for today. Don’t forget that between episodes of the podcast you can get videos every couple of days on Instagram, TikTok, and Youtube, just search for Breakout Business English. Also, if there’s a topic that you’d like to hear my talk about on the podcast then I’d be excited to hear your ideas! Leave me a message or a comment on Instagram, TikTok, or Youtube and I look forward to hearing from you. 

That’s it for today. Thanks a lot for listening today and I’ll talk to you again next time on the Breakout Business English podcast.