As we set about working toward our goals, it can be easy to get overwhelmed by the many tasks, so much so that we may have no idea where to start. At the same time, we may arbitrarily choose to work on some tasks while there are other things that would have a more meaningful impact on our overall success. How do we choose where to focus our efforts?
One way to think about prioritizing our task is to identify tasks which are preventing other tasks from getting done. There is a logical order to many things, since certain tasks are dependant on others. If you were building a house, for example, the foundation must be built first, then the walls, roof, etc. It would be pretty silly to worry about paint colors before you’ve marked out the location of the foundation. Addressing tasks that need to be done before others can be started need to take priority.
Another way to look at tasks is in terms of limiting resources. A shortage of a particular resource could make an abundance of other resources irrelevant. If you were baking a cake, you could be out of an important ingredient like eggs, which keeps you from baking even though you have enough of the other ingredients to make ten cakes.
The limiting resource could be something tangible like ingredients for a cake, or it could be something like money, or time, or a skill that requires training. Focus on the resource that is holding you back the most.
I think of these kind of things as having leverage, because effort applied on these things have a disproportionate effect on our overall success, in relation to other tasks on our list.
As you’re trying to decide what to do next, try to think about which things will have the most benefit and start there.