ADHD question
How do you prioritize tasks with ADHD?
The short answer
Do not try to rank the whole list. Get everything written down, then ask three questions in order: what has a real deadline today, what will cause a problem if it waits, and what would make tomorrow easier. Choose up to three tasks. Then pick the one you will start with, and hide everything else.
Why normal prioritizing fails
Most advice says to sort tasks by importance. That needs you to hold many tasks in mind at once and compare them, which leans on working memory. Adults with ADHD tend to have less of it to spare.1
There is also the "now or not now" problem. If time is hard to feel, a deadline in two weeks and one in two months look the same, until one of them becomes today.2 And the more options you look at, the harder choosing gets.3
The three-question method
Empty your head first
Write every task down, unsorted. You cannot choose among things you are still trying to remember.
Question 1: what has a real deadline today?
A real deadline has a consequence and another person attached. Those go on today's list first.
Question 2: what gets worse if it waits?
A bill that will incur a fee. A reply someone is blocked on.
Question 3: what would make tomorrow easier?
If there is room left, pick one thing that future you would thank you for.
Stop at three
Three tasks is a plan. Ten is a wish. Everything else moves to a list you cannot see.
Pick the first one
Either the one with the nearest deadline or the quickest one, to build momentum. Both are fine. Just decide.
What about the Eisenhower Matrix?
The matrix sorts tasks into urgent or not, and important or not. It is useful once a week, when you have energy, to cut things that do not matter. It is a poor tool for 9 AM on a hard day, because it adds four categories of decisions before any work happens. If it helps you, keep it. If you have tried it three times and abandoned it, the method above asks less.
When everything really is urgent
- Ask who is waiting. People first, then systems.
- Ask what takes under ten minutes. Clear those. The list gets shorter and the pressure drops.
- Tell someone. A two-line message that something will be late removes more stress than it creates.
Where NoRush fits
In NoRush, the 2-minute plan asks about your energy and has you pick a few tasks for Today, which holds five at most. Everything else sits in Later, folded away. If you still cannot choose, Shuffle shows one task at a time.
Questions people ask
Should I do the hardest task first?
Only if that works for you. "Eat the frog" suits some people. Many people with ADHD do better starting with a quick win, because momentum makes the hard task easier to start.
How many priorities should I have each day?
Three is a good ceiling. One of them should be something you would be relieved to have finished.
Sources
- Alderson RM, Kasper LJ, Hudec KL, Patros CH (2013). Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and working memory in adults: a meta-analytic review. Neuropsychology, 27(3).
- Ptacek R, Weissenberger S, Braaten E, et al. (2019). Clinical implications of the perception of time in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): a review. Medical Science Monitor, 25.
- Iyengar SS, Lepper MR (2000). When choice is demotivating: can one desire too much of a good thing?. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79(6).