I Feel Overwhelmed and Need Help Prioritizing What I Should Do First. Coaching Chronicles — Set Priorities For Your Day #1
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This topic is prevalent in my coaching practice, and you might face the same situation. I could summarize it in the following way.
I often feel overwhelmed and have difficulty deciding what to prioritize. I have many separate projects, and I struggle to figure out which one I should tackle first or which one I’m in the mood to work on. As a result, I often avoid picking tasks from my taskboard or planning them because I can’t determine which tasks are the most important.
First, this will always be a delicate topic, and you will never be 100% sure whether your selected task is the best alternative.
I read The One Thing a while ago, trying to find the answer to this question. Still, I ended up confused, frustrated, and thinking that I was probably too stupid to understand the book and find the answer to the great focusing question:
“What’s the ONE Thing I can do such that by doing it everything else will be easier or unnecessary?”
Once I had reviewed this process, I decided to explore other avenues. I ended up with a series of questions that were easier for me to understand and answer so that I could use them in my regular decision-making process.
This is how the process works for me. I consolidate my todo list, and then, for each one of the tasks, I run down the first question, and I score them on predetermined answers in this way:
First question (Q1): What would be the consequence of not doing it?
Predetermined answers and scores:
- Catastrophic — 75 (They go to the top of the todo list)
- Bad — 35
- Moderate — 10
- Not so bad — 3
- No consequences — 1
If you have identified any task with potentially catastrophic consequences, from my point of view, there is no further discussion; it will go to the top of the list. I have yet to learn about you, but I must deal with these tasks first.
This question is related to pain, and with it, I leverage a powerful cognitive bias that will also help me to act upon the task.
Loss aversion is a cognitive bias that explains why individuals feel the pain of loss twice as intensively as the equivalent pleasure of gain. As a result of this, individuals tend to try to avoid losses in whatever way possible.
Then, I move to the second and third questions, which I answer simultaneously.
Second question (Q2): What are the benefits of executing the task?
Predetermined answers and scores:
- Very important — 10
- Important — 7
- Moderate — 5
- So-so — 3
- Negligible — 1
As you have right guessed, this second question relates to the gain and value of the task.
Third question (Q3): How will other people and tasks be positively affected once this task is completed?
Predetermined answers and scores:
- Significantly — 5
- Partially — 2
- Not affected — 1
With this third question, I am introducing the concept of the ripple effect of a particular task on other tasks on my todo list or other people.
In the end, this is the formula I use to prioritize my todo list:
Value = Q1 + (Q2*Q3)
Then, you only need to select the task with the highest value and continue in descending order.
The process described is by no means a perfect prioritization method, but it is the one I consider more adjusted to my way of doing things and the most helpful for me so far.
I would be delighted if you shared your comments and thoughts with me.
