How to Prioritize Tasks When Everything Feels Important

How to Prioritize Tasks When Everything Feels Important

Does it ever feel like your to-do list is so packed that it’s impossible to know where to start? Like you’re drowning in a sea of priorities, each one as urgent as the next? Yeah, I’ve been there. A lot. In fact, just last night, I found myself staring at my own list, wondering how on Earth I was going to make progress on anything with all of these spinning plates.

Here’s the thing: When everything feels urgent, nothing really is. And that’s when we need to take a step back, breathe, and reassess. It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking we have to do all the things right now, but that mindset often leads to burnout. Trust me, I’ve lived it. So today, I want to share a framework that’s been helping me organize my projects when I feel like everything is important. This approach helps me step out of that chaotic headspace and focus on what really matters.

The Framework: Urgency, Impact, Ease, Alignment

Last night, I was wrestling with how to prioritize all my projects. Between updating my website, refining my email marketing strategy, developing content for the Creating Calm app, and maintaining my Pinterest strategy, everything felt important. But I knew that trying to tackle all of them at once would lead to burnout, and that’s not where I wanted to go.

Luckily, there’s a framework to help sort the chaos. I broke down this mess of a to-do list using four key factors: Urgency, Impact, Ease, and Alignment. These four simple concepts helped me cut through the noise and get clearer on where to focus. Here’s how it works:

Step 1: Assess Urgency

The first thing to ask is: Are there any hard deadlines or time-sensitive components for any of these tasks? For example, if my app requires updates for a launch, that might immediately jump to the top of the list. Urgency is often the easiest factor to spot—if something needs to be done by a certain time, it’s going to take priority.

Last night, I realized that while I have a lot of projects floating around, not all of them have hard deadlines. My website doesn’t need to be updated by tomorrow, but my email marketing? That’s something that can directly impact my audience engagement now. It helped me realize that I don’t have to do everything immediately, even if it feels like it in the moment.

Step 2: Consider Impact on How to Prioritize Tasks When Everything Feels Important

This step is about figuring out which project will make the biggest difference in your overall goals. What will make the biggest difference or move you closer to where you want to be?

When I looked at my projects through the lens of impact, I started seeing things differently. Sure, updating my website to reflect my new title of Chaos Management Specialist would be cool, but I realized that working on my email marketing would have a more significant impact on my business right now. My emails are where I build connections with my audience, and they directly lead to people signing up for the Creating Calm app. So, while rebranding is exciting, I need to focus on what serves my community. The emails and the Creating Calm App, those had to take precedence.

Step 3: Ease and Energy – How to Prioritize Tasks When Everything Feels Important

Ah, ease and energy. This is such an important one, especially when you’re dealing with fluctuating energy levels, like I do. It’s tempting to think we should always tackle the hardest task first, but sometimes choosing what feels manageable can lead to quicker wins and build momentum.

Last night, when I assessed my energy levels, I realized I didn’t have the bandwidth to dive into a full website overhaul. However, tweaking a couple of email sequences? That felt doable. I also knew that working on my Pinterest strategy wasn’t going to take as much mental energy as developing an entirely new app feature, so it made sense to prioritize the easier tasks when my energy was lower. Sometimes it’s not about pushing through; it’s about being strategic with the energy you do have.

Step 4: Alignment

This one is probably the most subtle but also the most crucial—alignment. Which project feels the most in tune with where you are right now? What excites you or feels like it’s resonating with your current mindset?

Here’s the thing: I’ve been really called to dive deeper into my role as a mentor, especially focusing on chaos management and helping people find calm in their busy lives. So, even though the app development is exciting, updating my website to better reflect this new direction felt more aligned with where I’m heading. It also felt right to focus on Pinterest, where I’ve been gaining a lot of traction lately, instead of spreading myself thin across platforms that aren’t resonating as much with my audience.

Putting It All Together: Organizing the Chaos

So how do you use this framework when everything feels urgent?

1. Write down all your projects. Get everything out of your head and onto paper (or a digital list, whatever works for you).
2. Run them through the Urgency, Impact, Ease, and Alignment filter. Ask yourself:
   • What needs to be done immediately?
   • What will have the biggest effect on your goals?
   • What feels manageable given my current energy?
   • What resonates with me the most right now?
3. Prioritize based on these answers. For me, it became clear that focusing on my email marketing and Pinterest strategy made the most sense. I could make small updates to my website as time and energy allowed, but it didn’t need to be at the top of my list.
4. Be flexible. One thing I’ve learned (and am still learning, to be honest) is that priorities can change. Some days, your energy won’t match what you had planned. That’s okay. This framework isn’t rigid; it’s meant to help guide you, not trap you.

Final Thoughts on How to Prioritize Tasks When Everything Feels Important

In a world where everything feels like a priority, it’s so easy to get caught up in doing too much, too fast. But we don’t have to live like that. By stepping back and reassessing through Urgency, Impact, Ease, and Alignment, we can make thoughtful decisions that help us move forward without burning out.

It’s not about doing everything at once—it’s about doing the right things at the right time. So, the next time you’re staring at your to-do list in panic mode, try applying this framework. You might just find that some things don’t need to be done right now, and that’s okay.

Now, I’m off to update my email sequences—what’s your next move?