Task Prioritization Methods

🥇 “How To Prioritize Design System Requests” (+ Figma templates) (https://lnkd.in/eTsVNdcU), a step-by-step approach to manage and prioritize requests in your design system — against reusability, product area, alternative solutions and effort, then to be reviewed, groomed and broken down into tasks by on-call squad. A practical case study by Alexander Fandén and the wonderful Agoda team. 👏🏼👏🏽👏🏾 Guide + video: https://lnkd.in/e2x78wuC New component request (Figma): https://lnkd.in/ezxSbX8r Component improvement template (Figma): https://lnkd.in/e_4A_-a3 Icon request template (Figma): https://lnkd.in/erwnwAiZ Presentation + Notes: https://lnkd.in/e9UgB_Qc 🤔 As design teams grow, so do requests for the design system. 🤔 Different teams have conflicting needs → conflicting requests. 🤔 With 60 product teams, 1000 running A/B tests, time is critical. 🚫 Poor coordination → misaligned priorities, dropped requests. 🚫 If a design system can’t deliver on time, it’s a bottleneck. ✅ Set up a new board exclusively for feature requests. ✅ It’s organized by status and priorities (highest → lowest). ✅ 4 request types: features, visual assets, tokens, tooling. ✅ Set up problem statement/solution kits, Figma templates. ✅ Figma templates include design specs, use cases, context. ✅ Requests are scored (high → won’t fix) on 4 key criteria. ↳ Product area, Reusability, Alternative solutions, Effort. ✅ Set up rotating on-call squad: designer, engineer, PM, QA. ✅ Squad reviews requests, team grooms them every 2 weeks. ✅ Store tickets in separate boards for each scrum team. Personally, I love how simple yet well-structured the process is. Too often decisions are made based on the loudest voice in the room, without any workflow that prioritizes work that has the highest impact and the highest relevance for all product teams. This approach changes that. Plus, as Alexander noted, it’s important that stakeholders can track the progress by viewing the status of all linked tickets within the feature request. Also, they can also add themselves as watchers to receive automated updates on any changes or comments — along with automated Slack announcements. And: for any process to be followed, it’s not enough to make it easy to follow. What has been helpful is to also make sure that it’s difficult not to use it. That’s where templates in Jira and in Figma can help — and make sure that we don’t miss all the critical details, dependencies, variants and use cases. Kudos to the Agoda team for the fantastic work and sharing their insights and Figma templates in public! 👏🏼👏🏽👏🏾 #ux #DesignSystems

Every task that comes to me is urgent and important. Sound familiar? This is a challenge many of us face daily. Early in my career, prioritization was relatively straightforward—my manager told me what to focus on. But as I grew, the game changed. Suddenly, I was managing a flood of requests, far more than I could handle, and the signals from others weren’t helpful. Everything was “important.” Everything was “urgent.” Often, it was both. To handle this effectively, I realized I needed to develop an internal prioritization compass. It wasn’t easy, but it was transformative. Here are 6 strategies to help you build your own: 1/ Be crystal clear on key goals Start by understanding your organization’s goals—at the company, department, and team levels. Attend organizational forums, departmental reviews, or leadership updates to stay informed. When in doubt, use your 1:1s with leaders to ask: What does success look like? 2/ Deeply understand KPIs Metrics guide decision-making, but not all metrics are equally valuable. Take the time to understand your team's or function's key performance indicators (KPIs). Know what they measure, what they mean, and how to assess their impact. 3/ Be assertive to protect priorities Not every task deserves your attention. Practice saying “no” or deferring requests that don’t align with key goals or metrics. Assertiveness is not about being inflexible—it’s about protecting your capacity to focus on what truly matters. 4/ Set and reset expectations Priorities change, and that’s okay. What’s not okay is working on misaligned tasks. Keep open communication with your manager and stakeholders about evolving priorities. When new demands arise, clarify and reset expectations. 5/ Use 1:1s to align with your manager Leverage your 1:1s as a strategic tool. Share your current priorities, validate them against your manager’s expectations, and discuss any conflicts or challenges. 6/ Clarify the escalation process When priorities conflict, don’t let disagreements linger. If you can’t agree quickly, escalate the issue to your manager. This avoids unnecessary churn, ensures trust remains intact, and keeps momentum focused on results. PS: You won’t always get it right—and that’s okay. Treat each misstep as an opportunity to refine your compass. What’s one tip you’ve used to prioritize when everything feels urgent? --- Follow me, tap the (🔔) Omar Halabieh for daily Leadership and Career posts.

This productivity tool saved me 20 hours per week: The Eisenhower Matrix. Most people confuse being busy with being productive. But activity isn't achievement. Progress is. I spent years in reactive mode—fighting fires, handling "urgent" tasks, wondering why I never made real progress on what mattered. Then I discovered this: Not all tasks are created equal. The breakthrough came from separating urgent from important. The system is simple: Draw a 2x2 matrix and categorize every task: • Important & Urgent → Do Now • Important & Not Urgent → Decide (schedule it) • Not Important & Urgent → Delegate • Not Important & Not Urgent → Delete Track your tasks for one week. At the end, ask yourself: • Which quadrant consumed most of your time? • Which quadrant holds most of your tasks? The gap between these answers reveals everything. I discovered I was spending 70% of my time on "urgent but not important" tasks—other people's priorities disguised as emergencies. The shift was simple: I started saying no to fake urgencies and scheduling deep work for what actually mattered. You can't eliminate all urgent tasks. But when you spend most of your time on important non-urgent work, you build the life you want instead of reacting to the life you have. Watch the full 3-minute breakdown to implement this system today.

Have you heard of the "Get Rid of Stupid Stuff" (GROSS) programme by Hawaii Pacific Health? This initiative saved 1,700 nurse hours per month!! It saved time by addressing something that plagues many workplaces: unnecessary, outdated, or low-value tasks. I see this initiative as a great reminder to us all that meaningful change doesn’t always require big budgets or sweeping overhauls—it often starts with identifying and eliminating the small, frustrating #inefficiencies that drain time and energy. Here’s how it worked: 👉 #Frontlinefeedback: Nurses were encouraged to submit suggestions for tasks they felt were unnecessary or outdated. 👉 #Evaluation: The leadership team reviewed submissions to identify tasks that could be streamlined, automated, or removed entirely. 👉 #Action: Based on this feedback, they eliminated redundant forms, simplified processes, and cut out tasks that no longer added value. The results? Not only did they save hours, but they also improved morale, reduced burnout, and created more time for nurses to focus on what truly mattered to them, which was caring for patients. 💡 💡An initiative like this only works when leaders step off the hamster wheel and make time to listen to their teams. ❗ Ideally, we would involve people in this kind of improvement work all the time. Every day and every week! And yes there are some client-facing jobs where it's difficult to make time for this but that's not an excuse! There's always a way to involve people and make their voices heard. So...if you are struggling to make time for improvement. Start with these three steps: 1️⃣ Ask your team: What are the “stupid stuff” tasks in their day? Encourage honest feedback in a safe, judgment-free way. 2️⃣ Evaluate together: Work with those directly impacted to assess which tasks genuinely add value and which don’t. 3️⃣ Act boldly: Once you’ve identified unnecessary tasks, have the courage to remove or simplify them. And as people's time is freed up, due to less wasted time, they will have MORE time to invest in proactive improvement work This isn’t just about cutting tasks; it’s about respecting people’s time, reducing stress, and enabling teams to do their best work. ❓ Thoughts? Are you a busy client facing organization and have you tried something similar? Let me know in the comments below 🙏 ____________________________________________________________ I'm Catherine McDonald- Lean Business and Leadership Coach. Follow me for daily 8am insights on Lean, Leadership, Coaching, Strategy and Organizational Behaviour.

As a startup founder, it’s easy to fall into the trap of wanting to do everything at once. The excitement of new opportunities, the thrill of innovation, and the pressure to grow can make it tempting to stretch yourself thin. But here’s the hard truth: if you try to do everything, you’ll end up doing nothing well. Over the last year, I’ve had the privilege of mentoring many startup founders at BLOCK71 Global, and I’ve noticed a common challenge most of them face - overstretching themselves. Most founders tend to say “yes” to too many things, and as a result, struggle to make meaningful progress. My advice as an ex-founder? Every six months, take a step back and reassess. Make a list of all the critical tasks and goals that your business *must* achieve to survive and thrive. These are your non-negotiables — the things that, if left undone, could jeopardise your business. Once you’ve identified these, focus on them relentlessly. Say “no” to anything that doesn’t directly contribute to achieving these core objectives. It’s not easy, especially when every opportunity seems like the one that could take your startup to the next level. But remember, not all opportunities are created equal. So How to Decide What to Say Yes To: 1. Alignment with Core Objectives: Does this opportunity help you achieve your must-do tasks? If not, it’s a distraction. 2. Resource Availability: Do you have the time, money, and energy to take this on without compromising your critical goals? If resources are stretched thin, it’s better to pass. 3. Long-Term Impact: Will this decision bring long-term value to your startup, or is it just a short-term win? Focus on opportunities that build sustainable growth. The Power of Saying No: Saying no isn’t about shutting doors; it’s about choosing the right doors to walk through. By prioritizing your startup’s core needs, you free up the bandwidth to excel in the areas that matter most. This is where true progress happens. For example, one founder I mentored was juggling product development, marketing, partnerships, and fundraising all at once. After reassessing their priorities, they decided to delay some partnership talks and reallocate those resources to perfecting their product. Six months later, with a stronger product and clearer messaging, they re-entered partnership discussions from a position of strength. Focus is a founder’s best friend. Every six months, make that list, and use it as your guiding star. Stay disciplined, stay focused, and remember—the best opportunities are the ones that move you closer to your mission. What’s on your must-do list today? #Startups #Entrepreneurship #Leadership #Focus #Productivity #Founder #Founders NUS Enterprise, The HANGAR by NUS Enterprise, NUS Overseas Colleges, NUS Entrepreneurship Society

𝐀𝐬 𝐚 𝐂𝐎𝐎, my day is a mix of 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐱𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠—all while making sure 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐨𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲. Early on, I realized that trying to do everything leads to doing nothing well and a messy outcome. So, I built a simple system to prioritize my time: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 3-𝐁𝐨𝐱 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤: 𝐁𝐨𝐱 1: 𝐔𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐭 & 𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 (𝑫𝒐 𝒊𝒕 𝑵𝑶𝑾) These are 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡-𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭, 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞-𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 tasks—things that affect revenue, operations, or people immediately. ✅ A client crisis ✅ A major hiring decision ✅ A process breakdown 𝐁𝐨𝐱 2: 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡 & 𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐠-𝐓𝐞𝐫𝐦 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭 (𝑷𝒍𝒂𝒏 & 𝑬𝒙𝒆𝒄𝒖𝒕𝒆) These are 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞-𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬—the projects that don’t scream for attention but define long-term success. ✅ Scaling a system ✅ Building leadership depth ✅ Strengthening brand & culture 𝐁𝐨𝐱 3: 𝐍𝐨𝐢𝐬𝐞 & 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 (𝑬𝒍𝒊𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒐𝒓 𝑫𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒈𝒂𝒕𝒆) These are things that seem urgent but 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐥𝐞. ✅ Endless status update meetings ✅ Random low-priority emails ✅ Tasks others can (and should) own 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭? 𝐌𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐁𝐨𝐱 1 & 3, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐢𝐧 𝐁𝐨𝐱 2. 👉 But real impact comes when you shift your focus to Box 2—the work that builds sustainable success. 𝑰 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒅 20% 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝑩𝒐𝒙 1 𝒂𝒏𝒅 3, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 60% 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝑩𝒐𝒙 2. Every morning, I ask myself: 𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘣𝘰𝘹 𝘢𝘮 𝘐 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯? And that question alone changes how I work and what's the outcome of my time spent. #Leadership #COO #Execution #StartupGrowth

Our minds juggle multiple priorities—annual plans, daily crises, work-life balance. More often than not, strategies get sidelined. What if there was a better way? Instead of a rigid annual plan, I use a 4-week execution cycle. Each month, I list 10 things to attempt and focus purely on execution. Some fail, but the few that succeed yield disproportionate results. By de-cluttering our minds and focusing on small, actionable goals, we create clarity. And in clarity, action thrives. Why This Works - Pareto Principle (80/20 Rule): A few actions create the biggest impact (Richard Koch and Perry M.) - Loop (Observe, Orient, Decide, Act): Faster iteration beats rigid plans (Boyd, 1987). - Momentum & Feedback Loops: Small wins drive motivation (Amabile & Kramer, 2011). - The Lean Startup Approach: Test, refine, repeat (Eric Ries, 2011). Here are some real-world applications for a few businesses: Mutual Fund Agents ✅ Call 50 past clients ✅ Conduct 3 financial planning webinars ✅ Publish 4 LinkedIn posts ✅ Offer a free portfolio review to 20 prospects ✅ Run a small Facebook ad campaign Chartered Accountants ✅ Automate invoice management for 10 clients ✅ Publish 3 tax-saving videos ✅ Offer a free GST compliance check-up ✅ Connect with 5 startup founders ✅ Set up a referral program Custom Clearance & Forwarding Agents ✅ Automate document submission for key clients ✅ Reduce clearance delays by 10% ✅ Build relationships with major exporters ✅ Launch a WhatsApp shipment tracking system ✅ Attend 2 trade events Research in various areas of execution supports this approach. - Learn by Doing: Execution beats endless planning (Colvin, 2008). - Failure = Learning - Fail fast, adapt quickly (Blank, 2013). - Success Compounds: Small wins drive big growth (Charles Duhigg, 2012). How to Start Today ✅ List 10 things to attempt in 4 weeks. ✅ Commit to execution—track progress weekly. ✅ Review, refine, and repeat. Stop over-planning. Start executing. Your next 4 weeks can change everything! Subodh

About 80% of tasks on your desk don't matter! I was doing my annual review for year 2024 recently. I was glad to complete some major projects. Yet there was a clear feeling of being unfulfilled. I approached my mentor for guidance. He smiled and gently said “You have been pretty efficient. But how effective have you been?” We're all spinning our wheels, powering through endless tasks while wondering why we're not moving forward. I remembered an old incident at work. That quarter, I cleared over 100 emails and attended about half a dozen meetings daily. But when my performance review came, my manager had asked, "What significant impact did you make?" The truth? Being efficient at the wrong things is still wasting time. Effectiveness matters more. It's like a marathon runner practicing sprints — sure, they're getting faster, but it won't help them finish a 26.2 miles race. Tasks follow the familiar Pareto 80-20 rule. Here's how to find the vital 20% in under 10 minutes: Asking the right questions helps. Instead of asking "How can I do this task faster?" start with "Should I do this at all? What other task should I do?" This approach prevents the exhausting hamster-wheel of optimizing tasks that don't move the needle on your career or company goals. Take your current task list. Label each item: "Moves the needle" or "Busy work." Be ruthless. Focus only on needle-movers for the next 48 hours. Your calendar will get lighter, but your impact will soar. Those remaining 80% of tasks? Either delegate them or drop them. They fade away when you focus on what truly matters. Do share your thoughts on efficiency and effectiveness in the comments. #LifeCoach  #CareerCoach  #Productivity

I've tried 100s of time management techniques.  This is by far my favourite: I used to work 80 hrs/week and call it "productive." When really I was: - Attending pointless meetings - Fighting countless small fires - Being involved in every decision Now I work less than 70% the time and get 4x as much done. The Eisenhower Matrix helped me get there.  It teaches you to categorise tasks by importance and urgency. Here's how it works: 1. Do It Now (Urgent + Important) Examples: - Finalise pitch deck before investor meeting tomorrow. - Fix website crash during peak customer traffic. - Respond to press interview request before deadline. Best Practices: - Attack these tasks first each morning with full focus. - Set a strict deadline so urgency fuels execution. 2. Schedule It (Important + Not Urgent) Examples: - Plan quarterly strategy session with leadership team. - Map long-term hiring plan for next 18 months. - Build a personal brand content system for LinkedIn. Best Practices: - Protect time blocks in advance. Never leave them floating. - Tie them to measurable outcomes, not vague intentions. 3. Delegate It (Urgent + Not Important) Examples: - Handle inbound customer service queries this week. - Organise travel logistics for upcoming conference. - Update CRM with latest sales call notes. Best Practices: - Build playbooks so your team executes without confusion. - Delegate with deadlines to avoid wasting time. 4. Eliminate It (Not Urgent + Not Important) Examples: - Tweak logo colour palette again for fun. - Attend generic networking events with no ICP fit. - Review endless “best productivity tools” articles. Best Practices: - Audit weekly. Cut anything that doesn’t compound long-term. - Replace low-value busywork with rest, thinking, or selling. If you are always reacting to what feels urgent,   You'll never focus on what matters. Attend to the tasks in quadrant 1 efficiently,  Then spend 60-70% of your time in quadrant 2.    That's work that actually builds your business. Which quadrant are you spending too much time in right now?  Drop your thoughts in the comments. My newsletter, Step By Step, breaks down more frameworks like this. It's designed to help you build smarter without burning out. 200k+ builders use it to develop better systems. Join them here:  https://lnkd.in/eUTCQTWb ♻️ Repost this to help other founders manage their time.  And follow Chris Donnelly for more on building and running businesses. 

They say everything’s urgent. Until urgency costs you $100K. That’s when priorities finally matter. That’s what my customer kept saying. Every email marked “ASAP.” Every request needed “immediate attention.” My team was drowning in priorities. Deadlines slipped. Morale tanked. Focus vanished. Sound familiar? Here’s how we turned chaos into clarity and results: First, we used the Eisenhower Matrix: → True urgency: System outages → Important but planned: Feature releases → Delegate: Minor updates → Eliminate: Nice-to-haves The key? We did this with the customer. They helped categorize each request. Their buy-in made all the difference. Without it, this would’ve been just another failed process. The result? ✔️ Less team overwhelm ✔️ Clearer project milestones ✔️ A happy customer, they got what truly mattered Once we saw it work, I built a playbook every smart leader can use when everything feels urgent: 1. Eisenhower Matrix   → Urgent vs important. Know where to focus.   → Spend less time on fires, more on impact. 2. Pareto Principle (80/20 Rule)   → The vital few drive most results.   → Focus on the 20% that matters. 3. Warren Buffett’s 5/25 Rule   → Choose 5 goals, ignore the other 20.   → Focus beats distraction. 4. RICE Method   → Score by reach, impact, confidence, effort.   → Rank smart for maximum return. 5. MoSCoW Method   → Must, Should, Could, Won’t.   → Define essentials, defer the rest. 6. ABCDE Method   → Label tasks A–E, focus on A’s.   → Do must-do’s first, delete E’s. Then, we put structure behind the strategy: 7. Time Blocking — 2 hours of deep client work daily.   → No meetings, no interruptions.   → Pure focus on what matters most. 8. Eat That Frog — tackle the hardest task first.   → Before email, before admin.   → Start strong, stay strong. 9. Batching — group similar tasks for efficiency.   → One focus, many wins. The payoff? ✔️ 3x more client face time ✔️ Smoother operations ✔️ Real work-life balance finally Want simple steps to next level your career with clarity, not chaos? Join my Career Freedom Masterclass 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eM5kKXRc ♻️ Repost to help another leader find focus 👋 Follow Stephanie Hills, Ph.D. for leadership insights that bridge life and work