How to Prioritize Goals During High Stress

Every task that comes to me is urgent and important. Sound familiar? This is a challenge many of us face daily. Early in my career, prioritization was relatively straightforward—my manager told me what to focus on. But as I grew, the game changed. Suddenly, I was managing a flood of requests, far more than I could handle, and the signals from others weren’t helpful. Everything was “important.” Everything was “urgent.” Often, it was both. To handle this effectively, I realized I needed to develop an internal prioritization compass. It wasn’t easy, but it was transformative. Here are 6 strategies to help you build your own: 1/ Be crystal clear on key goals Start by understanding your organization’s goals—at the company, department, and team levels. Attend organizational forums, departmental reviews, or leadership updates to stay informed. When in doubt, use your 1:1s with leaders to ask: What does success look like? 2/ Deeply understand KPIs Metrics guide decision-making, but not all metrics are equally valuable. Take the time to understand your team's or function's key performance indicators (KPIs). Know what they measure, what they mean, and how to assess their impact. 3/ Be assertive to protect priorities Not every task deserves your attention. Practice saying “no” or deferring requests that don’t align with key goals or metrics. Assertiveness is not about being inflexible—it’s about protecting your capacity to focus on what truly matters. 4/ Set and reset expectations Priorities change, and that’s okay. What’s not okay is working on misaligned tasks. Keep open communication with your manager and stakeholders about evolving priorities. When new demands arise, clarify and reset expectations. 5/ Use 1:1s to align with your manager Leverage your 1:1s as a strategic tool. Share your current priorities, validate them against your manager’s expectations, and discuss any conflicts or challenges. 6/ Clarify the escalation process When priorities conflict, don’t let disagreements linger. If you can’t agree quickly, escalate the issue to your manager. This avoids unnecessary churn, ensures trust remains intact, and keeps momentum focused on results. PS: You won’t always get it right—and that’s okay. Treat each misstep as an opportunity to refine your compass. What’s one tip you’ve used to prioritize when everything feels urgent? --- Follow me, tap the (🔔) Omar Halabieh for daily Leadership and Career posts.

Do you and your team struggle with competing priorities? Regardless of your role, business leader or practitioner, over the years I've learned that no matter the company, industry, start-up or enterprise, we have too many strategic initiatives and it gets in the way of focus and progress. 😤 What creates distraction from what we truly need to accomplish is: ✅ New TRENDS, TERMS, and TECH TOYS! ✅ There's more work than resources & funding. This creates DRIFT ✅ As things drift, we experience a lag with closure, resulting in FATIGUE ✅ As fatigue sets in, we forget our original PURPOSE and we digress. The cycle then repeats and it feels like an endless loop of projects without proper closure and celebrations. While this won't solve everything, it'll be a good start. It's worked for me in the past: ✍ Create a list of all the things that's requiring your time or the teams time ✍ Tag them as H (high value), M (medium value), L (low value) [you choose how you define value. For me I've used loose rules like "Is it aligned with our priorities and the companies mission? Keep it simple] ✍ Anything of H & M keep, anything tagged as L think about how to offload. [It may require a talk with your boss to say these lower value activities are distracting the team from the high-value activities, is there a way to delegate to de-prioritize? OR. It may require a discussion about constrained resources and budget, and how to best prioritize efforts so you can apply resources accordingly] ✍ Always prioritize resources and funding to the H's, and whatever is left over to the M's. [When asked about progress on the M's, you say the team is doing the best it can with the workload of the higher priority times. If things need to progress faster, its a good idea to discuss capacity & funding] ✍ When someone asks you to do something else, DO NOT immediately say 'YES'. [You say "I know the work is important and it needs to get done, I want to help. let me assess the teams capacity & bandwidth so I can get back to you with realistic timeframes to make sure its acceptable for you", or. something like that] ✍ Watch out for your own issues with over committing. Be reasonable about what you can and cannot accomplish in a 50-70 hour week. [Sorry I can't help those who have a 40 hour work weeks, never had that 😢] More to come ... sign up for my upcoming Newsletter! https://lnkd.in/ejvkkuGi (I'm a practitioner turned C-Suite exec 4x's over and one of the first Chief Data & Chief AI Officers appointed back in 2016. I have a lot of scrapped knees & bruised elbows to share). 

As you move into senior engineering positions, there’s never enough time to do everything that’s on your plate 😅 You might be tempted to catch up on your weekend / evenings. Or just constantly shuffle from one to the next trying to keep everything afloat. Something that’s helped me the last few yrs is ruthless prioritization. 👇🏼 ↪️ What can I delegate? ❌ What do I need to say no to? ✅ What do I need to do immediately? 🚀 What is really going to move the needle forward? But sometimes it’s hard to know what the top priorities are... One thing that’s really helped me is to write a daily + weekly summary of all the competing priorities I’m working on. Next, I’ll “manage up” in my communication by sharing them with my manager. We try to take that list of 25 things I’m juggling, and outline the 2-3 “must dos”, and what are some key things I can drop. Once we are aligned I move forward and intentionally drop those things that are not priorities. I’ll then reach out to a stakeholder of something I dropped with a quick message. “Hey! Just wanted to let you know I’ve had to pause this priority. Currently my top focus is x/y/z, which is due next week. I’ll circle back and focus on this once we deliver x/y/z. If it can’t wait, let me know and we can chat.” Proactively choosing the high and low priorities helps me stay productive on on what really matters, and earn trust by keeping my manager and stakeholders in the loop. At some point if you try to do everything, you’ll end up doing nothing. Learn to say no. So you can say yes to everything that really matters. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - How do you juggle everything that’s on your plate? I’d love to hear any questions or tips you have. 🙋♀️🙋♂️ P.S. If you liked this post, you’ll probably love my weekly newsletter: https://lnkd.in/e8d5ymr3 

Do you find it hard to get clear on priorities with your manager? I struggled with this a lot at Google. We'd set these great goals (OKRs) at the start of a quarter, but then a million other requests would land on my desk and I'd end up trying to do all of them at once. This is a tricky space to navigate but the most useful tool I found was... ...a conversation. Yep, a real human 1:1 dialogue! Here's the truth: all of us get overwhelmed...even your manager. Most people are just doing their best. Most managers aren't trying to drown you in endless work. But we live in this crazy world where 3 powerful forces at our play ▶ Infinity Pools Our inboxes, phones, Slack channels, and work tools are always demanding our attention. There is an infinite amount of information being thrown at us every day. ▶ The Busy Bandwagon Somewhere along the line, "busy" became a status symbol. We're all living in a culture that encourages more, more, more! The Busy Bandwagon keeps adding things to our plates, even when we know that less often leads to greater results. ▶ The VUCA World The modern world is increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex, and unambiguous. Priorities are changing constantly, so old models of goal-setting aren't standing up in the fast-paced world we're operating in. Nobody is happy about this. And it's certainly not leading to high performance. But guess what? I realized that by recognizing how crazy these defaults were, and seeing that everyone around me was struggling, I could approach these sticky situations with more empathy and perspective. ⏭ Ok great...so how do you pull off a great prioritization conversation? 1️⃣ First, focus on your mindset. For me, it's all about openness & curiosity. "What do you think is most important to focus on this week?" Is a far better question to lead with than... "Why are you constantly adding more work to my plate?" 2️⃣ Second, show them everything you're working on. Often, managers are so busy themselves they're not fully aware of the busy work bogging you down. Make a list of the key projects you're working on, plus the "other stuff" that is taking up your time. Then you can be on the same page (literally) about your work. 3️⃣ Third, work through the list and see if they can identify a few things to delay or deprioritize. 4️⃣ Fourth, schedule time to revisit the conversation. Prioritization is a process, not a one-and-done task you can check off. Building a rhythm of checking in on priorities is key to sustainable performance over time. 🔆 That's it. A simple, open, curious conversation leads to huge unlocks for the employee, the manager, and the team. ❓ What has worked for your in these situations? Lmk in the comments. ~~~ P.S. This exact question was raised last week in our Conversations with High Performers live podcast last week between TravelPerk & People Playbook...can't wait to share the recording with y'all!

How to Prioritize When Everything Feels Urgent 👇 Ever feel like everything on your to-do list is "urgent"? As Product Managers, this feeling can be overwhelming. But the truth is, not everything is equally important. Today, I’m sharing simple strategies and personal methods to master prioritization even when everything feels urgent. 1. The 80/20 Rule (Pareto Principle): Focus on High-Impact Tasks When everything feels urgent, it’s easy to confuse "busy" with "productive." How it works: The 80/20 Rule states that 80% of results come from 20% of the work. My Approach: Identify the 20% of tasks that will create 80% of the impact. Ask, "If I could only accomplish one task today, which one would have the biggest impact?" Ruthlessly cut or postpone "low-impact" tasks until essential work is done Example: Instead of responding to every email immediately, I’ll spend the first hour of my day working on the most critical task like preparing a roadmap presentation for stakeholders. 2. One Big Thing" Method: Reduce Cognitive Overload When everything feels urgent, decision fatigue sets in fast. How it works: Focus on just one "big thing" per day and make it your primary goal. My Approach: Every morning, I ask, "If I could only achieve one thing today, what would it be?" I write it down at the top of my planner and prioritize it over everything else. Once it’s done, I’ll move on to smaller tasks or "urgent" requests. Example: If I need to finalize a product strategy document, that becomes my "One Big Thing" for the day. Only after it's complete will I review smaller tasks like answering Slack messages or attending low-priority meetings. 3. The 2-Minute Rule: Avoid Task Accumulation Tiny, quick tasks have a sneaky way of building up until they feel "urgent." How it works: If a task takes less than 2 minutes, do it now instead of delaying. My Approach: I’ll address simple requests (like approving an expense) as soon as I see them. This prevents my task list from filling up with low-effort items that drain my mental bandwidth. Example: Instead of saving 5 tiny Slack requests to "do later," I’ll handle them at the moment if they take less than 2 minutes. Prioritization isn’t about doing everything. It’s about doing the right things.   Which of these 3 methods do you use most often? #productmanager #productmanagement

HOW TO PRIORITIZE LIKE A PRO SO YOU CAN CRUSH YOUR GOALS As a single mother of 3 & solopreneur, I had to learn to prioritize well or be crushed by the massive weight of responsibilities. Sometimes it felt like Sophie’s Choice, d*mned if I do, d*mned if I don’t. I mean how do you decide if you pay for the field trip or pay the water bill? You think I’m kidding? My water got shut off. You see me now on top of the world, but it took me a decade of feast or famine, sleepless nights, financial roller coasters, shattered dreams, blood, sweat, and f*cking tears to get here. I learned so many things the hard way, and prioritization was one of them. Over time, I mastered strategies for effective prioritization, and now it’s second nature to me. I rarely have to go through these steps, because it’s part of who I am. And I help my clients do the same thing. I teach them proven high performance strategies and over time the strategies become high performance habits that enable my clients to rise to the top of their industries and absolutely obliterate their goals. Here’s how you can do the same. To PRIORITIZE LIKE A PRO, you must: 🎯IDENTIFY YOUR UNIQUE ABILITIES: What activities energize & fulfill me? Where do I consistently excel? What tasks do others choose me for? 🎯DETERMINE WHAT MATTERS MOST: Does this align with my core values & long-term goals? Will this significantly impact my success or the success of my team? Is this task urgent or simply an interruption? 🎯SET CLEARLY OBJECTIVES :Define specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, & time-bound (SMART) goals. Break them down into manageable daily tasks. 🎯USE THE IMPACT/EFFORT MATRIX:  High Impact/Low Effort: Prioritize these first. High Impact/High Effort: Next, tackle these significant but demanding tasks. Low Impact/Low Effort: Handle these in spare time. Low Impact/High Effort: Delegate these 🎯ADOPT THE 80/20 PRINCIPLE: Focus on the 20% of tasks that produce 80% of your results. 🎯IMPLEMENT TIME BLOCKS: Allocate specific time blocks for your most important tasks, minimizing distractions to reach completion. 🎯DELEGATE: Delegate tasks outside your unique abilities or that others can handle. 🎯REVIEW & REFINE: Set aside time weekly to review your progress and adjust priorities. 🎯 SAY NO: Protect your time by evaluating new opportunities against your goals. Politely decline or negotiate if they don’t align. By focusing on what matters most & aligning your tasks with your unique strengths as well as your deepest values, effective prioritization will transform your life. Today is the day to start prioritizing effectively & embrace your journey toward unparalleled success! If not now, when? #business #success #highperformance 

Spending time on the wrong things crushes me as a founder ⬇️ Even one day of working on the wrong things makes me feel like I’m sinking the whole ship. And that was me last week 😔 I spent M-F working on a revised talking points template for our creators at Adhesive Media. While this is important, we had some changes to our creator outbound system which needed my attention, and I didn't get to it. I realized my problem: when I have a lot of my plate, I just try to get things done one by one without prioritizing. I’d think to myself - “oh if I can get these all done, it doesn’t matter the order” That’s WRONG. First thing should always come first. I shared my problems with Brandon Chien on our Friday call, and he helped me put together a new framework to judge tasks. Before starting on any task/project, I must determine: 1. Est. Revenue Impact (High / Med / Low) 2. Time Saving impact for Team (High / Med / Low) 3. Required Time to Complete (High / Med / Low) I’m looking for HIGH impact with LOW/MED required time now. That’s my goal. When there's a lot on my plate, here's how I "task reset" 1. Look at quarterly rocks (biggest things which move us to annual goals) 2. Determine what tasks I need to do this week to get us (or keep us) on track 3. From there, choose which ones are HIGH impact with LOW required effort. 4. PRIORITIZE THOSE before doing anything else 5. Be OK with certain tasks not getting done if it means you’ll complete the priorities Every week there’s new learnings - grateful to be able to share them here on LinkedIn!