“The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.”         -Stephen Covey

Keep it to 3 main priorities, that’s it. 

If it’s anything more than that it will be overwhelming. You’ll accomplish 4 or 5 tasks of the 15 priorities that you’ve set for yourself. You’ll think of your day as a failure. 

In reality, you accomplished a lot. You just set the bar way too high and focused on too many things at once. If you continue this pattern you’ll soon be in over your head.

Your list will continue to grow. You’ll soon have 50+ top priorities that need to be done today. You’ll give up before you’ve even begun. Make it easy for yourself to complete your goal for the day. 

Instead, keep it to your 3 most important, need to be done today, objectives. Write them down on a list. Create a separate list with 4-5 additional tasks that need to be done at some point. They’re important tasks but not high priority tasks that need be done now. Make sure you separate the two lists. Once you finish your most important high priority tasks, that’s it. You can move onto your other list from here, but you don’t have to.

Don’t feel obligated to complete anything on the other list. If you finish your 3 most important objectives for the day you don’t have to immediately move on to the other list. You’ve accomplished your goal. Be proud of that. You don’t always have to be doing something to be productive. 

Keep your list short. Make the objectives clear and achievable. If you find yourself merging the two lists take a step back. Go back to only 3 priorities or less for your day. If you complete these top priorities, you’ve won the day.