Choose your important task first
Don't let easy distractions decide what gets your attention today.
Not ratedADHD evidence
Start with the time you have
1 minute
Name the task whose delay would matter most today, and its smallest useful first move.
5 minutes
Mark one priority in your task list and decide when to start it.
15 minutes
Review today's commitments, remove an optional task and begin the priority.
30 minutes
Protect one work block for the priority, then check whether the next step is clear.
A plan
Practise choosing before starting
- Select one priority at your daily check.
- Begin a small part before optional tasks.
- Review what displaced it and adjust tomorrow's plan.
How sure the science is
Not rated, ADHD evidence
No pooled trials to rate. This rests on single studies, expert consensus or clinical practice. Measured in people with ADHD.
ADHD clinical guidance and programme content; the isolated strategy has no separately rated efficacy estimate.
The number, drawn
Prioritise tasks by importance and urgency
Why it matters
An interesting or easy job can crowd out an important one. Adult ADHD skills work includes ranking a task list, but the ranking method has no trial estimate of its own. NHS guidance recommends sorting tasks by how important and how urgent they are.
How to do it
- Look at your calendar and task inbox.
- Pick one important task where a delay has a real cost.
- Mark a small first action and a realistic time to try it.
- Leave lower priority tasks for later.
Putting it into practice
In real life
- Start the expiring application before reorganising your folders.
- Choose the reply that unblocks a colleague before browsing optional messages.
Watch out for
- Common mistakeIf everything is urgent, nothing stands out. Pick the task with the clearest consequence.
- Common mistakeThe most important job may feel too big. Pick its smallest useful part.
Trusted guides
How we rated it
- Evidence grade
- C Small or mixed studies, expert consensus or clinical practice. Worth knowing, not worth betting on.
- The number
- Prioritise tasks by importance and urgency (Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, 2025)
- Benefit
- 42/100 The benefit score is an editorial prioritization for the general list, weighted by certainty. It is not a prediction of what will happen for you.
- Effort
- Some effort
Sources
- Tier 1 guidelineABCDE systemOxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, 2025
- Tier 2 studyDescription and Demonstration of CBT for ADHD in AdultsCognitive and Behavioral Practice, 2010
General information about ADHD, not a diagnosis or an individual treatment plan. Tailoring changes the order of suggestions; it does not assess you. Medication decisions belong with you and a qualified clinician.