Hello everyone, Scott Friesen here at Simpletivity, helping you to get more done and enjoy less stress. You know, one of the most common questions I receive is, how do I select the highest priority item on my to-do list?
You've probably looked down at your tasks and been puzzled as to what you should be working on next. Well, I want to share with you three questions that will help you determine your highest priority item.
Note that these are three distinct questions, so listen carefully to find out which one will work best for you. The very first question on our list is this: if you could only select one task to accomplish today, which one would it be?
In other words, if you had to defer every single item on your to-do list except one, which one would you pick? By applying limitations to our to-do lists, it allows us to zero in on our most important work.
So put yourself in that mind frame. Pretend that you can only accomplish one thing today— which one of all the things on your to-do list would you select next?
Now, the second question comes from Gary Keller and his book *The One Thing*. Gary suggests that we ask the following question: which task, once completed, will make everything else easier or unnecessary?
The reason why I love this question is that it puts your entire workday in perspective. It allows you to analyze your entire task list and identify the one thing which is going to have a powerful impact on everything else in your day.
So if you can identify which thing is going to make everything else easier or unnecessary, chances are you should start working on that immediately. The third and final question works like this: as you analyze each individual item on your to-do list, ask yourself, what's the worst possible thing that could happen if you don't accomplish that task today?
For example, are people going to be upset with you? Are you going to start receiving nasty email messages or messages via text or social media?
Are you going to start losing income if you don't accomplish that task today? I realize this puts your to-do lists in somewhat of a negative light, but perhaps that's what makes it so powerful.
In fact, many of my clients find that this is their favorite question because it helps them determine what their number one priority is. So ask yourself, what's the worst possible thing that could happen if you don't do that task today?
You may find out you can defer it or put it lower on your priority list. So there you have it, three questions to help you determine what you should be working on next.
Now I'd love to hear from you. Which of those three questions are going to be most helpful to you as you reprioritize your to-do list?
Or do you have a particular question that works well in your situation? Be sure to share it with me in the comments below.
Thank you so much for watching. If you liked this video, be sure to give it a thumbs up, leave me a comment, and don't forget to subscribe.
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