A typical workplace struggle we have is prioritization. With non-stop emails, higher expectations, and tons on our to do lists, deciding what deserves our attention can quickly become overwhelming. Mastering prioritization can change our life; through it we reduce stress, we can focus, and even achieve work-life balance. 

Especially when priorities pile up, we need a clear system in place that will help us shift from overwhelmed to under control. Brian Tracy’s ABCDE method is one system that does wonders. Instead of keeping tasks on a single level of priority, his method offers two or more levels for each task. Here’s how to do it –

• Go through your list and give each task a letter from A to E (A being the highest priority)

• For every A task, give it a number that indicates the order by which you’ll do it

• Repeat until all tasks have letters and numbers

That’s it! A deceptively simple and practical prioritization strategy. While in most cases it’s almost impossible to differentiate between a B1 task and an A3 one, by giving each task multiple layers of prioritization their true importance suddenly becomes much clearer.

A clear distinction of the ABCDE with other time management methods is that it recognizes that different tasks can take the same priority level. At the same time, instead of randomly doing equal-priority tasks as they come along, the method employs an extra level of prioritization to help you be more organized.