How to Prioritise Tasks When Everything is Urgent
You've arrived at your desk. You've done your daily brain dump and now have a list.
Fantastic job. What next?
Prioritisation is the next logical step. We all know we should analyse our task list and determine what to do first, second, third... and so on.
And yet many of us skip prioritising altogether, opting to brace ourselves while our most urgent, important task presents itself – a fire, ready to be fought.
In this article, I will investigate why avoiding prioritising is so common and argue the case for daily task prioritisation. I will also share examples of prioritisation models and suggest ways to incorporate (almost) effortless prioritisation into your work.
Why Do We Avoid Prioritising?
I took to social media and spoke with colleagues to find out whether my suspicion that we avoid prioritising our task lists was correct, and if that was the case, why we do it.
The overwhelming response was – yes – we avoid prioritising.
Some felt prioritising was a luxury that only people with spare time could afford. Ironically, those lucky folks with all that extra time probably manage their workload effectively by planning and prioritising.
Others felt prioritising wasted precious minutes (time they could spend doing urgent work rather than thinking about it). But, in this scenario, how do you know what is urgent and what isn't? You respond to the person who shouts loudest; after all, isn't everything urgent to someone?
Constant “busyness” prevents us from prioritising work strategically, leading to mistakes and increased stress.
Many people I spoke with understood the basic mechanics of prioritisation; for example, things can be high, medium, or low priority, but accurately allocating these priority statuses felt impossible. Add neurodivergent brain wiring into the mix, and prioritisation can become even more challenging. Have you interpreted neurotypical instructions accurately? Is your assumption of priority right? Have you missed some unwritten rules?
Another layer of complexity is that other people's priorities differ from yours. Plus, where you are in the organisational pecking order tends to influence how you class other people's priorities (rightly or wrongly, tasks from your manager automatically attract a higher priority status, regardless of their actual priority).
It's hardly surprising we skip the prioritisation stage of our daily work.
A Case For Prioritising Daily
When you prioritise your workload, you are being proactive, making decisions based on the information you have.
If you don't prioritise, you will always be reactive. You will react to the person who shouts the loudest, chaser emails from your manager because you've missed a deadline, and whoever walks up to your desk and asks for something.
Prioritisation is control, and being in control usually feels better than being out of control.
Being reactive and out of control is stressful – prioritising can reduce this stress.
Furthermore, if you prioritise your tasks accurately, you will likely realise that you don't have to finish everything today. You'll plan your work to meet deadlines promptly while incorporating buffer time and improving work/life harmony. If you've planned and prioritised well, you'll feel less of a need to take work home with you or stay late in the office.
Higher level prioritisation – for example, identifying your one main focus for a week – can happen in a weekly review . However, your workload is constantly changing – as is the amount of information you have to inform prioritisation. Therefore, reviewing your priorities daily is essential.
Prioritisation Models
A wide range of prioritisation models are available; several are below. Some will work for you; others will not. Select two or three of these models to test so that you can develop a prioritisation toolkit. Use the right tool at the right time.
ABCDE
The ABCDE method involves allocating a priority level to each task, with A being the most urgent and C being the least.
After assigning priorities, delegate (D) tasks when appropriate or eliminate (E) tasks that aren't necessary or relevant.
This method helps you identify high–priority tasks and prevents you from getting bogged down by less important tasks.
A benefit of this approach is its simplicity and flexibility. I prefer the DEABC approach because if you decide what to delegate and eliminate first, you have a smaller task list to prioritise. Thanks to Juan from X for this suggestion – it works a treat.
Image source: Teodesk
Eisenhower Matrix
The Eisenhower Matrix categorises your tasks into four quadrants:
Important and Urgent
Important but Not Urgent
Not Important but Urgent
Not Important and Not Urgent.
By organising tasks in this manner, you can focus on completing critical tasks first (quadrant 1), then strategically allocate time for important long-term goals (quadrant 2), delegate or minimise time spent on less important but time-sensitive tasks (quadrant 3), and finally, reduce or eliminate tasks that offer little value (quadrant 4).
The benefit of this approach is that it forces you to differentiate between urgent and important tasks. It's tempting to spend all your time working on seemingly urgent tasks, never getting to the important work.
Image source: James Clear
Eat That Frog
Developed by Brian Tracy, Eat That Frog encourages you to tackle your most challenging and important task first (metaphorically, "eating a frog" first thing in the morning!). By addressing this task before others, you can gain a sense of accomplishment and momentum to carry on with the rest of your day, making it more likely that you will complete other tasks on your task list efficiently.
One benefit of the Eat That Frog method is that it can reduce the anxiety and stress associated with procrastination. By confronting the most daunting task head-on, you can overcome the mental barrier that often leads to procrastination. However, if you are neurodivergent - particularly if you have ADD or ADHD - this method might not work for you - you might prefer a “Reverse ETF” approach (thank you, Terry on Twitter). Completing small, "quick win" tasks might generate the dopamine you need to commence "frog-eating".
Energy-Based Approach
An energy-based approach categorises tasks according to their required mental or physical energy level (high-energy, medium-energy, or low-energy). This approach helps you balance your workload, ensuring you don't exhaust yourself by consecutively tackling too many high-energy tasks. You can also better align tasks with your natural energy fluctuations throughout the day (for example, if your energy is high first thing, that's when you do your high-energy tasks).
The energy-based approach is ideal for neurodivergent people, but unfortunately, your working context will influence whether or not you can use it. It can work if you work for yourself or in an organisation that allows you to work relatively autonomously. However, if your role is responsive, you should combine an energy-based approach with another prioritisation method to account for the needs of the business alongside your own.
Must, Should, Could, Won't (MSCW or MoSCoW) Method
The MSCW or MoSCoW method helps you categorise your tasks based on their importance and urgency. "Must" tasks are essential and time-sensitive, "Should" tasks are important but can wait, "Could" tasks are optional and can be done when time permits, and "Won't" tasks are unnecessary or can be eliminated.
This method helps you focus on the most critical tasks first while providing flexibility for the rest.
Image source: Ness Labs
But What is a Priority?
Prioritisation is a hot topic in productivity circles, but the focus is on how to prioritise as opposed to what. The what is more frequently discussed in neurotypical circles.
Using the ABCDE method as an example, how do you know what is high, medium, and low (ABC) priority? How do you know what you can delegate and eliminate (DE)? Or, using the Eisenhower Matrix, how do you know whether something is urgent, important, not urgent, not important, or a combination of all four?
Here are some guidelines to consider for the ABCDE method:
A (high priority): these tasks are critical, and not completing them may have significant consequences, such as missing deadlines, damaging relationships, or negatively impacting your (or your organisation's) goals.
B (medium priority): these tasks are important but less crucial than the A-level tasks. Delaying their completion may have moderate consequences or may cause minor inconveniences.
C (low priority): these tasks have minimal impact on your (or your organisation's) overall goals and can be completed when no high or medium-priority tasks are left. They often tend to be less time-sensitive and have little to no consequences if not completed immediately.
D (delegate): identify tasks that can be delegated to someone with the skills and capacity to complete them. These tasks may still be important, but they can be executed by someone other than you to achieve the desired outcome.
E (eliminate): These tasks offer little value and can be removed from your to-do list. These tasks often distract from more important ones and consume time and energy that could be better spent elsewhere.
You can apply the same criteria to other models like the Eisenhower Matrix, working on the basis that:
Urgent tasks have short-term consequences and require immediate attention, such as meeting a deadline or responding to a pressing issue. Not urgent is the opposite.
Important tasks contribute to your long-term goals, personal and professional development, and overall well-being. Not important is the opposite.
Ultimately, determining the priority of tasks comes down to understanding your (and your organisation's) goals, values, and the potential consequences of not completing them.
You will become more adept at prioritising tasks effectively with practice and reflection.
Effortless Prioritisation
There's no way around it - if you (as opposed to, say, your manager) are going to prioritise your workload, some effort is involved. But there are steps you can take to make it efficient.
As alluded to above, successful prioritisation requires an awareness of your and your organisation's goals. This information informs your prioritisation.
After that, adding a block of time to your calendar, either at the start or end of the day, to review and prioritise your tasks is vital. I do most of my daily planning and prioritising at the end of the day with a quick morning check-in. Use your preferred prioritisation method in this process.
Continue to refine this approach by reflecting on it in your weekly review.
Over to You
What are your main challenges with prioritising your tasks? Do you use any of the prioritisation models mentioned in this article? Comment below - let's start a conversation.
