How to Prioritise – Don't Eat the Elephant (#001)

Have you ever heard of a forced comparison? If you haven’t, do not fear, you are one of many. Some of the most accomplished and capable people I have worked with had not either. Allow me to introduce you to one of the most important life skills I have ever learnt.

Let’s start with the comparison part. A comparison is considering or estimating the similarities or dissimilarities between two things or people. In our case the comparison is between tasks. Although I have used this many-a-time for comparing people (interviews, etc). Forced in our case means you are compelled to choose.

This is assuming that you have made a list. Have you? It is liberating. If you haven’t, then do it now. My current list has all the little things that keep cropping up in my mind and worrying me. The mental and emotional energy they consume is disproportionate to the effort to make them go away. Even so, I cannot tackle them all at once. I cannot eat the elephant in one go.

Got your list? No. Come on, I am trying to help here. I promise to be here when you get back. Good to go? Excellent. Here is a short video to show you how to do it.

Let’s imagine you have a list of 8 tasks. A, B, C, through to H. You cannot do them all so let’s prioritise. Starting with A, ask yourself “Is ‘A’ more important to me than ‘B’?” If it is, then give ‘A’ a point. Then ask yourself “Is ‘A’ more important to me than ‘C’?” If it is not, then give ‘C’ a point. Keep going all the way down to ‘H’ giving points to one task or the other. Now go back to ‘B’ and ask yourself “Is ‘B’ more important to me than ‘C’?” Then ask yourself “Is ‘B’ more important to me than ‘D’?”. If it is not, then give ‘D’ a point. Got the idea? Your list should look something like this when you have finished;

A. |||||| =6

B. | =1

C. ||| =3

D. | =1

E. ||| =3

F. ||| =3

G. |||| =4

H. ||||||| =8

We can now see the priority is ‘H’. Followed by ‘A’, then ‘G’. Things get a little more complex now because ‘C’, ‘E’ and ‘F’ have all scored 3. Do not fear. Just repeat the previous exercise but your list is now down to just three tasks to prioritise. Maybe you should get on with task ‘H’ then ‘A’ followed by ‘G’ before you even do the next forced comparison of these 3?

A couple of other quick points before I leave you to enjoy a life filled with prioritised joy;

1. The order of your list may play a role in deciding your priorities. In my experience, my unconscious bias tends to favour those at the top of the list as more urgent (front of mind) and hence more important. Try doing the forced comparison in reverse order if you feel something like this going on. Another bias can be – easy to complete tasks– try not to score a task highly just because it is easily done, and hence, off the list.

2. The question is “loaded”. It prompts you to ask what is most important to you. I personally think it is the right question but maybe ‘most valuable’ would be better? Or, in a work situation the most important to your team or boss would be more productive? In your personal life perhaps your partner or family might be a better priority?

3. You do not need to eat the elephant in one sitting or even alone. Delegating and outsourcing are at the very least viable, if not preferable solutions. Delegating a task to a colleague can make them feel more valued, be a development opportunity for them and much more. Outsourcing the gardening or cleaning can be transformational for your domestic life.

4. Tasks B and D only scored 1 point each. Could you just delete these? It’s certainly worth considering it.

5. Finally, another prioritisation trap can be avoidance. We all have perfectly natural, personal preferences. Maybe you don’t like making difficult phone calls or completing your tax return. Tasks that you want to avoid will rarely get better or easier with time. You know it, and believe me, so do I.

Give it go, I would love to hear how you got on. Please leave a comment below. Do you have a different tool or method for prioritising? Or perhaps you need some advice on tackling a difficult task? If I can help, I will. Just get in touch…

Be happy, healthy and helpful

Paul

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