Priorities
How to Set Priorities
...When Everything Feels Urgent
(Without feeling guilty for saying no)
-Andrea Patrone
| Step | Details |
|---|---|
| Don’t start with your tasks, start with your outcomes |
- Ask: “What does success actually look like this week?” - When you’re clear on results, you can drop what doesn’t serve them. - Busyness ≠ Progress. |
| Use the ‘Impact vs. Effort’ filter | - Not all tasks are equal. → High impact / low effort = do first → High impact / high effort = plan and schedule → Low impact = question if it’s worth doing at all |
| Prioritize people, not just projects | - Some of your most important work is invisible: → Building trust → Unblocking teammates → Clarifying direction |
| Choose 3 priorities per day | - The brain isn’t built for 10 urgent tasks. - Choose 3 things that matter most. |
| Say “not now” without guilt | - You protect priorities by protecting your focus. You don’t have to say “no” forever—just not now. → “Happy to explore this—can we revisit next week?” → “This deserves full attention, but I’m focused elsewhere today.” |
| Share your focus with your team | - You can’t lead with clarity if you prioritize in silence. - Tell your team what you’re working on—and why. This creates: ✓ Alignment ✓ Accountability ✓ Fewer interruptions |
| Check in weekly—what’s noise vs what matters? | - Over time, you’ll learn to spot true priorities faster. - Each week, ask: → What’s the most valuable thing I did? → What could I drop with no real consequence? |
...When Your Plate Is Too Full
-Eric Partaker
For Individuals
List out what needs to get done. Use the below 3 tools to make decisions, prioritize, and schedule.
Eisenhower Matrix
- Urgent & Important: Do It Now
- Urgent & Unimportant: Delegate It
- Non-Urgent & Important: Schedule It
- Non-Urgent & Non-Important: Delete It
3-3-3 Method
Plan your day to complete
- 3 hours of deep work on an important project
- 3 urgent tasks like crucial meetings, emails, to-dos
- 3 maintenance tasks for a smoother life
Timeboxing
- Set blocks of time on your calendar
- Schedule a specific task in each block
- Focus only on that task during the assigned block
For Teams
Be sure your team has clear goals. Gather all team tasks, and use the below tools to plan, prioritize, and collaborate
ABCDE Method
Prioritize tasks based on consequences
- A :: Highest priority for today; severe consequences if not completed
- B :: Important to do today; minor consequences if not completed
- C :: Nice to do today; no consequences if not completed
- D :: Delegate if possible
- E :: Eliminate entirely
MoSCoW Method
Sort tasks into categories
- M :: Must Have - Crucial tasks for success
- S :: Should Have - Important, not crucial
- C :: Could Have - Nice to have
- W :: Won't Have - Out of scope
Kanboan Board
Organize & coordinate your team's priorities
| To Do | Doing | Done |
|---|---|---|
| Post-it | Post-it | Post-it |
| Post-it | Post-it | |
| Post-it |