Prioritization Made Easy: A 3-Step Approach to Success

I’ve been having my monthly 1:1s with my team this week, and I’ve noticed many have revolved around the same topic – prioritization. Some asked for my advice about how to prioritize, while others discussed challenges they face when prioritizing.

Generally, I believe that when you have too many things to do or think about, you must prioritize ruthlessly.

I’ve mentally set up prioritization frameworks for the most important components of my life: AiSDR, our customers, my family, and free time.

When I feel overwhelmed, I ask myself these two questions:

• What is the most important thing I can do?
• What is the small possible action toward it?

Once I have answers, I take that action. Then once it’s done, I ask myself these questions again and move on to the next most important task. For me, this makes life easier and more focused.

But for this to succeed, there are three key conditions you need to fulfill.

TLDR:

• The goal: Learn to prioritize
• The tactic: Fulfill three specific conditions to set your priorities
• The result: Have one approach to prioritization at your disposal

Step 1: Figure out what you want

The first step to prioritizing is knowing exactly what you want to achieve. 

Without a clear end goal, it’s easy to lose focus and get distracted by less important work. So take time to think about what you want to do, whether it’s working on new generative AI features, prompt engineering, or improving your tennis skills (which is something I do in my free time).

If you have a lot of goals, write them down somewhere – a journal, a Word document, a piece of paper on the fridge, or even task management software. Then when you’ve completed one, check it off or strike it from your list. 

Also, it’s normal to feel pulled in different directions, but not everything can be a priority. After all, if everything’s a priority, nothing’s a priority.

That’s where knowing what you want comes in. With a direction in mind, you can prioritize your goals according to how much they help you reach your end goal. As you practice, you’ll learn how to make smarter decisions on where to spend your time and energy for the biggest returns.

Step 2: Stop and think if you start feeling overwhelmed

This is a critical step.

Whenever you feel overwhelmed, you need to stop and reflect. It’s tempting to tough it out and keep pushing forward, but this can lead to huge mistakes or burnout.

That’s why you need to step back and take a moment to reassess your situation.

If you’re stuck and going nowhere, try asking yourself these questions:

• Am I trying to do too many things at once?
• What’s my most urgent priority right now?
• What can I delegate or put off for later?
• Is there a simpler way to achieve what I want?
• When was the last time I took a break to recharge?

After you’ve had a chance to reflect and the feeling of being overwhelmed subsides, reorganize your goals, triage anything that’s not mission-critical, and focus on just 1-2 things.

This helps clear your mind, keep you feeling in control, and give you a chance to rebuild work momentum. 

Step 3: Move forward without regret about the ‘road not taken’

Every time you make a choice, it’s natural to wonder about what could have happened if you’d taken a different path.

However, dwelling on “what ifs” will only slow you down and create doubt, which is one of the last things you need, especially in a fast-moving situation. 

Instead, learn to trust that you made the best decision with the information you had at the time.

During my ~8 years of leading start-ups and running founder-led sales, there have been several occasions when I was faced with the “right decision” and the “practical decision”.

Every time, I chose the “right” way, even if it was less financially lucrative, harder, or longer.

And I never regretted it each time.

That’s only because I had my fair share of hard knocks. Before my founder life (and even in the earliest years), I’d gone through cases where I took the shortcut only to end up having it bite me. Sometimes immediately. Sometimes years later.

The Result

This is a glimpse into how I personally set priorities for myself, and if anyone asks me for advice on prioritizing, this is what I tell them.

The important thing to remember is that you should never make decisions when you’re emotional, overwhelmed, or feeling rushed. That’s why I emphasize the need to stop whenever you’re in a negative state of mind, step back, and return only once you’ve regained control.

In the end, just remember that prioritization isn’t about doing everything. It’s about doing what matters most. 

And the more you prioritize, the more you come to understand that not every road can be taken, and that’s okay 🙂 As many say, the journey is the important part.