You can’t do it all so do this first

Every Monday we’re told to plan our week, yet by Wednesday we’re swimming in emails and last-minute requests. Across fields, people juggle too many priorities and end up achieving none.

Priority management starts with impact. If you list ten goals but only three will truly shift your project forward, the other seven become distractions. By scoring impact from 1 to 10, you identify the vital few. This echoes the Pareto principle—80 percent of value often comes from 20 percent of efforts.

Once your top three goals are clear, the next step is scheduling. A goal without a time slot is just a wish. Block specific hours in your calendar, and treat them as unbreakable. This simple act turns abstract aspirations into concrete commitments. When a calendar conflict arises, having a scheduled goal makes it easier to say no.

Defending those blocks is critical. The psychology of commitment shows that the more public and concrete your plan, the more likely you are to follow through. By labeling yourself “unavailable,” you protect your focus and signal your priorities to the team.

In practice, this method channels your energy toward high-leverage work and frees you from endless context-switching. Start by listing, scoring, blocking, and defending—it’s the formula for moving first things first from theory into real progress.

Make a quick list of all your goals for the week. Give each a 1–10 impact score and circle the top three. Then grab your calendar and book time slots for those three—note dates, start times, and durations. Finally, treat those slots as firm commitments: turn off notifications and say “I’m unavailable” to anyone who tries to sneak in another meeting. Focus your energy there and watch key goals get done.