When the hierarchy of priorities on a person’s to-do list feels unclear, it’s easy to slip into a sort of task paralysis, where we’re unsure of what to do first — so we don’t do much at all. 
 

Hesham Tohamy, V.P. of North America FemCare, shared with Thrive his simple strategy for managing a full plate. When faced with the feeling of “Where do I begin?,” Tohamy makes what he calls a “priority call.” With the help of his team and his managers, he asks himself these three questions to get unstuck and move forward: 

– What are the most critical “first things first” tasks, responsibilities, or decisions? 

– What decisions, obstacles, or tensions can only I remove? What can be delegated?

– What’s the worst thing that can happen if I decide I won’t or cannot do something? Can we/I/the business live with that?

By eliminating an item from our to-do list, delegating it to a capable colleague, or simply being OK with incompletions for the time being, we can lower our stress levels and focus on our actual priorities with greater creativity, productivity, and even joy. 

Thrive Microstep:

Declare an end to each workday, even if you haven’t completed every last thing on your to-do list.

Effectively prioritizing means being comfortable with incompletions and taking time to recharge.