List Prioritizing

I made a list this weekend (during my Singing Brook Day) of active projects in my life right now. It wasn’t a complete GTD Mind Sweep but it was a solid clearing out of my mental to-do list. I ended up with a full 4×6 card in tiny handwriting.

So Monday came today, and I had to decide where to start on this long list. Each project has multiple characteristics, and all are important, or I wouldn’t be doing them – so where do I start? Here are some of my criteria.

Family Projects > Work Projects. I take care of my family first. Always.

Short Projects > Long Projects. Finishing projects can add momentum, so it’s nice to get going on projects that won’t take a long time.

Fixed Deadlines > Flexible Deadlines. If I’ve got a deadline approaching, that’s got to take priority. Relatedly,

Near Deadlines > Far Deadlines. Clearly.

Mundane = Artful = Intellectual. I try to balance the mundane (doing dishes) with the artful or intellectual (writing music or writing a blog).

What criteria do you use for deciding what project to work on first?