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Vox Pop: What we talk about when we talk about "priority"
Merlin Mann | Feb 12 2007
Since the Bronze Age of personal productivity, conventional wisdom has taught us the importance of priority in deciding how to plan and use our time. And, in the abstract, anyhow, that notion of putting your time and attention into those things that are the most valuable to you seems so "obvious" as to be a tautology, where "productivity = acting on priorities." (Of course, whether people's execution of the things they claim are important always maps to their stated intentions is another matter for But, we can probably agree that in the post-Lakein world of productivity and time management, everything from Covey's Quadrants to the Pareto Principle to the four criteria to -- what? I dunno -- firewalking, has been used to help us train our attention on the things that need us most and provide the greatest value in our world. Priority. But, in practice, what the hell does "priority" really mean? I come at this from the angle of a GTD fan, in the sense that I try (try, mind you) to see priority as one of several factors that govern where my time can and should go. But, it's no secret that even the most diehard GTD fan struggles with how to execute a busy day during which this and this and this and, oh crap, **that** all need to be done as soon as possible. How do you manage it all? Well, one way is to apply some of the many affordances that various productivity tools offer: priority stuff is big, and it's red, and it's bold, it's at the very top of the list, and it's stuck on a sticky note in the middle of the monitor; anything to make sure we don't lose our most important work in the lights. So my question to you guys: what does "priority" really mean to you in practice (not theory)? Does it represent the highest value item in your world -- that for which you will reject other work? Is it the thing that's currently causing the most stress and anxiety? Or is it the thing that you're the most behind on and are therefore the most horribly embarrassed about? What makes you set an item's priority to the "high" setting, and then how does that help it to get done faster? Does priority planning ever fail you? I've got my own theories, but I want to hear what you guys think in comments. (And, of course, my apologies to the late Raymond Carver.) 40 Comments
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 I'm self employed so the...Submitted by John (not verified) on February 12, 2007 - 7:19am.
I'm self employed so the firing/tongue lashing/no supper priority isn't really an issue. For me high priority is one of two things - it's either the task that will create the most value when it's complete or the task that is most important even if it may not directly create value. That may mean there is a time limit or expiry date of some sort or it may just be something that I know needs to be done, even if I don't really want to do it. This is one of the areas that I struggle with in my GTD system. I try to keep my next actions list current with things that I'm actually working on and that need to get done. If it isn't high enough priority for me to do "next", it shouldn't be there. So my next actions all tend to be high priority items and I just pick them off one by one. My struggle is that there are naturally some things that deserve a higher priority than others, and I wind up doing a mental priority check anyway. I should probably use some sort of prioritization in the list so it's off my mind. » POSTED IN:
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