Find the tasks that go overboard first
Datum: 2026-01-29 08:08
To-do lists often tend to grow rather than thin out. From one day to another you probably have time for what you need to do. As you tick today’s tasks off, the list for the day gets shorter and shorter, but over time — if you consider your all-encompassing, complete and comprehensive list as a whole — for most people I meet, there is more and more to do.
You establish a new routine that gives you a few additional tasks to do with regularity in the future. Something new happens in the business, which prompts you to do something specific in addition to what you usually do. You agree to take on more responsibility, meaning that more tasks have to be done each week than before. And so on.
Slowly but surely, you begin to run out of time to do all your tasks faster every day and you have to apply your ability to determine the highest prioritized tasks more frequently.
For you who prefer listening to reading, this post is also available as an episode of the ""Done!"" podcast:
As fast as possible
When things are stressful and you need to decide quickly what the right task to devote yourself to in the next moment is, you obviously want this choice to be as quick and as easy as possible to make. You already know that the tasks due today (which are therefore urgent) that are also important are the highest prioritized tasks, but what if you could also quickly disqualify those tasks on today’s list that will undoubtedly not be prioritized — and rightly so — if time is short?
You can — if you on beforehand have identified which tasks you could throw overboard first if you needed to get rid of something to keep the ship afloat.
Do this
- Look through your complete to-do list and look for tasks that you would almost certainly not prioritize on a day when you are unusually short of time. These are tasks you want done and that will be great to have done, but which are neither critical nor necessary. They have more the character of “good if it gets done” or “nice to have” than “an absolute must”. These can be tasks that are one-off or recurring.
- Find a way to mark them as “first overboard”-tasks. If you have a digital to-do list, use a category, label, or #-tag for this. In my list tool, I actually have a label called “First overboard”.
- The next time you need to prioritize because you will not get to everything on today’s list, quickly find the “first overboard”-tasks and move them to another day or cross them off completely (if you can and it does not have dire consequences). Now you will have fewer tasks to prioritize amongst and prioritizing will be easier — just when you need it the most.
More time to get what you prioritized done
If you mark the tasks that will get pushed aside in a time crunch in advance, you will gain a lot later when time is short and you need to get the right thing done quickly. They will not stress you out unnecessarily, because you will get them out of sight without it costing you much. When you need it most, your past self will have helped you do the job more smoothly.
What’s your way?
Have you done something else to prioritize fairly quickly in stressful situations? Feel free to write and share your experiences and ideas.
(Not everyone is a list lover like me. Do you recognize yourself? Check out a to-do list for anyone who does not like lists!)
You can get more!
If you want more tips on how to create good structure at work, there are many ways to get that from me - in podcasts, videos, books, talks and other formats.
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