You’re staring down the barrel of a seemingly endless to-do list. You know it’s time to get started, but where? Do you start with the smallest task or the largest task? The task you like most or the one you like least? The important one for yourself, or the urgent one for someone else? When it comes to prioritizing our to-dos, most of us tend to approach the situation with some degree of subjectivity. But this line of thinking often leaves us totally paralyzed — hovering over our to-do lists for who knows how long, trying to decide where to get started.
The reality of our modern world is: there will always be more stuff to do than time to do it. We can’t waste precious minutes or hours in a state of paralysis (or, worse yet, procrastination) simply because we don’t know which task to tackle first. The key is to become as objective as possible when choosing where to get started. That’s where the 3 Qs (The Three Questions) come in:
Question # 1: How long will it take?
All things being equal, you can prioritize your to-do list by evaluating how much time each task will take and the relative size of the payoff for the time invested to complete each task. In other words, if you have conflicting priorities, evaluate how much time each task will take, and choose to start with the task that takes the least amount of time but yields the biggest payoff.
Given the limited amount of time we have to get things done, it’s foolish to look at any to-do list without also evaluating how long each task will take. But people rarely ask this pragmatic question, stopping only to consider what they need to do (and perhaps how they feel about each particular task — I like doing this, I hate doing that).
From a purely time-management perspective, knowing how long things take enables you to organize your day realistically. It’s pointless to put twenty important things on your to-do list for Thursday if, given the time each item takes, you’re really only going to be able to get three done. It is not only better but also necessary to know the limits of your day, so you choose the three most important of the twenty and schedule the others for different days.
Question # 2: What is the return on investment?
The length of time any task takes to accomplish figures prominently in determining its priority, especially in relation to return on investment. You have to ask yourself: is the payoff big enough, relative to the time invested? Your answer may sometimes lead you to eliminate certain tasks from your to-do list altogether — if it’s simply not worth the time invested. But more commonly, asking this question will help you to determine the order in which you tackle your to-dos if you are facing the limits of time on any given day.
For example, just as he was logging into a Zoom meeting, David, an executive for an esteemed management consulting firm, was notified by the client with whom he was supposed to be meeting that something unexpected had come up, and that he would need to push their meeting back by an hour or so. With a sudden free hour on his hands, David took the opportunity to check his voicemail where there were three messages waiting. Which call should David return first?
Let’s explore David’s options below:
David is perhaps tempted to follow-up with the warm prospect first, because the potential payoff is biggest. But this task will take longest, and the stakes are much higher because the sale is not guaranteed. An existing client is always a surer source of revenue.
David really likes Customer B — and since it will only take 15 minutes, he thinks it might be nice to just knock this task off the list first. But if he follows up with Customer A first (potentially a payoff of nearly five times higher than Customer B, for just twice the time invested) and all goes well, he will still have time to give a quick call to Customer B in the time he has remaining before he meets another existing client for lunch, potentially bringing in another 5K from Customer B.
Question # 3: What is the deadline?
If you’re looking at conflicting priorities with similar time investments and similar payoffs, you can choose which to do first by considering the deadline. This may seem obvious, but under high-pressure circumstances, you may find yourself tempted to start with the task you are more in the mood for, or the one you think you can finish more quickly for that boost of satisfaction, rather than the one that is actually due first.
This can be dangerous, if it leaves you without enough time to get to the more urgent task that you’re neglecting. Cover yourself by always starting with the task closer to the deadline, and get that done before moving on. Resist the temptation to procrastinate a more-urgent task by completing a more-enjoyable task or a less-time-intensive task.
When your to-do list overfloweth, pausing to ask yourself the 3 Qs can help you overcome a state of paralysis and quickly catapult you into a state of productivity, focusing on the most important task first. If you find yourself struggling to prioritize, try writing the 3 Qs on a post-in note and keeping it visible on your desk (or wherever you’re currently keeping your to-do list) to serve as an important reminder to remain objective in the face of constant pressure.
For more tips from our Time Management Mastery Series, see:
The # 1 Time Management Question to Ask Yourself