On Priorities

5 compartment TODO lists

Eisenhower Decision Matrixes

Colour-coded calendars

Short Term, Medium Term, Long Term

1, 2, 3, 4, 5

A, B, C, D, E, F

Important, Urgent, Important and urgent, Neither

Must have, should have, could have, don't need

Some people love them, it's a symbol of how busy they are. Some wear it like a badge they earned on topping their bible quiz tournament. Sometimes it turns into a competition: You have 3 labels. Well, guess what sucka I have 5!

Don't worry I did too, it's a guilty pleasure, right?

But at the end of the day, how many things do you end up crossing out with that blue ball pen you borrowed from your coworker's desk and never returned?

Juggling to do so many things and end up nothing.

Looking down at the empty bin of battered conquests of that day, and feeling guilty (and then turning to comfort eating).

That's why I switched to binaries from priorities.

0 or 1.

Yes or no.

Do or Don't.

Now or Not Now.

Important or Not Important.

When you take a project it is Hell yeah! or no.

When making a TODO list it is One Daily Highlight and other Might Do's.

Heads or Tails.

Noodles or Don't Noodles.

My Way or Highway.

War or Peace.

Clean Shave or No Shave (no trimming or that kinda shit in between)

Okay, I'm taking it too far but you get the point right...?

It's often that case the thing hiding behind all those VIBGYOR colour-coded labels is... indecision. When you can't, or more precisely don't want to choose whether it is important or not, you start hiding behind these labels and priorities.

Being binary about what you choose to do brings clarity to what needs to be done.

There is no maybe level 1, maybe level 2, maybe level 3... in between.

You can always flip from 0 to 1, from yes to no, from now to not now, but there is no middle ground.

Don't use priorities as a defence mechanism for your indecisiveness.

If you can't make a decision just flip a coin. At least, you'll have a 50% odds of making the right decision. And a 100% odd of at least making a decision.

If it doesn't work out, you can always switch.

Be definitive... or don't.

But at least make a decision to be one.

The worst decision of all is none.

Fin.

[Meanwhile, my phone in the background: yellow

led flashes 3 times]