Why We're Shockingly Bad at Prioritization

Setting priorities is a fundamental aspect of work, yet many individuals and organizations are surprisingly poor at it. While major events like the COVID-19 pandemic can impose clear priorities, most of the time, managers must decide how to allocate capital, which initiatives to pursue, and which metrics are most critical. Product teams must choose features, sales teams must select clients, and individuals must manage their daily tasks.

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When people have to make a choice about what to do next, they often pick the thing that seems achievable, even if that is not in their interests.

Research suggests people are often motivated by the sheer act of achieving goals, making it difficult to abandon them even when counterproductive. In one experiment, participants pursued two competing goals even when the reward for achieving one was the same as achieving both, increasing the likelihood of failing at both. This tendency extends to financial decisions, where indebted consumers may prioritize paying off small debts over larger ones with higher interest rates, valuing a tangible sense of progress over rational financial planning.

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A tangible sense of progress was more important to them than the rational choice.

This behavior is also evident in workplaces. Employees might engage in tasks that offer little value, such as being the 400th reviewer of a document, simply to feel a sense of accomplishment. Organizations, too, can fall prey to poor prioritization. Some leaders treat every request as a top priority, or employees act as if all demands are equally urgent. This can lead to the "peanut-butter problem," where attention and resources are spread so thinly across numerous initiatives that none receive adequate focus. For example, Lego's CEO, Niels Christiansen, once found the company managing 100 key enterprise risks, questioning the effectiveness of such a broad approach.

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Being the 400th person to review a document adds nothing of value, but at least you can go home with some sort of achievement to your name.

Frameworks like the Eisenhower matrix offer guidance for individuals, categorizing tasks by urgency and importance. Urgent and important tasks demand immediate attention, while important but non-urgent tasks require dedicated time. Non-urgent and unimportant tasks, however, warrant a critical self-assessment. Other methods, like the action-priority matrix, further divide tasks to aid decision-making, aiming to bring clarity to the often-chaotic landscape of professional responsibilities.

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Some bosses regard everything they ask for as a priority; even if they don’t, their employees may behave as though nothing matters more.