Prioritize The Work With The Arrows

At work, a goal had two roads to it. Both reasonable. Written out, the challenges on each road came out even, which felt like information and was closer to a coin landing on its edge.

The tie was hiding an arrow. Beat the challenges on one road and a good share of the other road’s challenges shrink on their own, because they were never separate problems to begin with. Run it the other direction and…not much moves.

An even score is also what talks you into splitting the day between both roads. It sounds fair. There are only so many hours, though, and a band can’t play two songs at the same time and call it a medley.

So before picking a road, draw the arrows…

Next to every challenge, write what gets easier once it’s gone. Count arrows instead of lines. The challenge with the most arrows leaving it is the actual work, and whichever road it sits on is the road to trek down. That won’t always be the easier one. Achievable and easy are different words.

If you lead anybody, the arrows are yours to draw. Hand a team an even list and they’ll split themselves down the middle to keep both roads happy, and roads don’t have feelings. People who beat one real set of problems get faster at the next set. People who half-fight two sets just get tired, and tired doesn’t compound.

Customers never see the list at all. They see what got finished, and they decide what you’re for from that. (Worth iterating differently: Customers don’t see your progress across items. They see what got finished.)

Stay Positive & Where Do The Arrows Go?