Out of Chaos an organizing newsletter
Don’t Sweat the Prioritization
I’m going to contradict myself here. I know in the past I’ve told you to prioritize, and I had my reasons, and it’s still good advice, but now I’m going to walk it back.
Yes, it is good to know what’s super-hot on your to-do list, but sometimes people get frozen in the prioritization stage.
This is especially true when tackling major projects. Recently, I was with a client who couldn’t decide whether to paint the walls or refinish the floors first in her new apartment. The painter suggested painting first, the floor company said to do the floors first—neither wanted to mess up the other guy’s brand-new work. I said, flip a coin or better yet, see who has the soonest availability.
When I moved a few years ago, I did such a thorough job vetting moving companies that by the time I was ready to book the one I wanted, my dates were gone. The lesson: Don’t overthink it, perfection is the enemy of the good, and getting stuff done is good.
Have a lot to do? Throw it all down on a piece of paper, brain dump-style. Then put stars by the things that truly cannot wait. Maybe use red ink, if you have a selection of pens. Then do those things. Don’t rewrite the list, don’t waste time prioritizing the small stuff: That’s all just procrastination. In the 15 minutes you spend rewriting your list, you could’ve crossed something off the list instead.
The longer I do this work, the more I realize that so many of us are not really disorganized, only paralyzed by indecision.
Sometimes you just need to commit. Yes, you might love to see your Aunt Agnes when she’s in town, but if you wait for her to decide her travel schedule, that perfect beach rental you’ve been eyeing might get booked by someone else. Life isn’t always ideal.
There’s nothing wrong with trying to do it right, trying to optimize your time and being logical. All totally reasonable. But sometimes you’re trying to control things you can’t control, and by trying to do it so perfectly, you end up doing nothing at all.
So, don’t worry about the order, don’t overcomplicate, just make a big, messy list, and then try to make it disappear.