10-10-10 Rule to Help Prioritize
Hey friends,
With a busy schedule at work, sometimes one can feel overwhelmed with all the things that end up in our inbox and the high-volume of tasks makes it harder for us to figure out what to prioritize first. I learned a simple rule from my best-friend in how to triage multiple items in a day which I use on a daily basis. This is the 10-10-10 Rule and it has brought efficiency, focus, and calmness to my life. Here’s how it works:
Every thing (task, assignment, project, etc.) that falls in your court and needs to be handled by you, give it a 10-10-10 rating:
10 Minutes (10M): this is the first category and it needs to be handled immediately. Anything that needs to get done right now OR you can handle it right now, get it done. Keeping these items on your list when they can easily be executed only adds additional stress to your life. So, take care of them ASAP (god! I hate this word, brings back memories of banking).
10 Hours (10H): not now, but today. This category of task needs to get handled today, doesn’t matter when today, but today and definitely not right now. This is usually a medium effort item and will require some focused work. For example, writing this Mentor Hour is a 10 Hour task for me, not that it takes 10 hours to write, but I know that I need to get it done today. Cuz you know…it’s a Monday.
10 Days (10D): not today, but within the next few days. These are for those long-term projects that don’t need to get finished today. Any projects or assignments like this where either the deadline is far away or you need to finish a combination of things that take a long time, leave them for when you have time in the next few days.
2. Once every new task is rated, execute. Start with the 10M, then the 10H, then the 10D, if time permits.
Best part about this simple method is that I stop thinking about the 10H and 10D tasks while taking care of the 10M tasks. Then, when I am done with 10M tasks, which by the way are the majority of things that hit our inboxes, I only have a few 10H tasks to focus on. Finally, if I get some time at the end, I’ll put some effort behind the 10D task. All in all, focusing and setting up boundaries in terms of what type of tasks to tackle allows you to compartmentalize your stress and supercharge your effort in crossing them off the list.
Anyways, try it out this week, see if it makes you productive and helps you prioritize all the fancy stuff you’re up to. All the best and stay happy awesome people! 😊
Sherjan
