Most writers don’t prioritize their writing projects. This can be very detrimental to your success as a writer. Without being able to prioritize your writing projects, you won’t know which one is most important. And this can create a lack of productivity and success. Today, I will focus on what it means to prioritize your writing tasks into 1, 2 and 3 files. Some writers know the significance of this numerical scheme. But how can they put it into practise in their writing life? Here is a rough thumbnail sketch of what precisely these categorizations mean for your writing career. Category #1-The Most Important File This category usually consists of the most important writing projects–ones that are part of your three main goals for each quarter and they must be completed or at least worked on each quarter so that you could successfully complete your projects. These are items that are absolutely necessary and they should be on your agenda or planner every week. They are non-negotiable tasks to your writing success. Category #2-Secondarily Important Folder This category usually consists of secondary writing tasks and projects. These projects may inadvertently help you later on in your writing career. But right now they won’t advance you any closer in your writing goals or help create success in your writing career. These are items that are hard to discard because can be difficult to accurately determine whether they may or may not be important to our main writing goals. These are items which should not be on your main agenda at all because these items should only be done once your main goals are completed. Category #3-Least Important File This category usually consists of things that you really should not be pursuing because they are not even tangentially important to your writing goals. They are usually extraneous things that come across your desk and pollute your mind and your desk with things that usually not only waste your time and energy but take you away from your main writing goals. The things in this file should definitely never be pursued. And we should develop the discipline to discard them quickly without any shame or guilt. So, now you have the scheme. Can you put it into practise? It will take a bit of thinking and reorganizing. But it will also take persistence, steadfastness and clear thinking. If you struggle with to determine which of your projects are most important, take the time to step back from all of your writing projects and determine without a shadow of a doubt which ones are the most important for you to be most successful. Then concentrate on no other task other than those for a while until you feel more in control of your writing career. Irene S. Roth Freelance Writer, Author, Book Reviewer, and Editor