# Choose your important task first

Published by Pawel Jozefiak. [About this project](https://adhd100.jock.pl/about/), [How we check sources](https://adhd100.jock.pl/methodology/)

- Canonical: https://adhd100.jock.pl/choose-daily-priority/
- Language: en
- First published: 2026-09-29
- Evidence checked: 2026-09-29, using AI-assisted source verification
- Clinical review: Not clinically reviewed
- Number 75 of 100 in the list: https://adhd100.jock.pl/#choose-daily-priority

Don't let easy distractions decide what gets your attention today.

**The number:** Prioritise tasks by importance and urgency ([Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, 2025](https://oxfordhealth.nhs.uk/mindset/skills/time-optimisation/abcde/))

## The evidence

- How sure: Certainty of evidence: Not rated. Measured in people with ADHD.
- Evidence grade: C. Grade C: small or mixed studies, expert consensus or clinical practice. Worth knowing, not worth betting on.
- Basis: ADHD clinical guidance and programme content; the isolated strategy has no separately rated efficacy estimate.
- 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.

## 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

1. Look at your calendar and task inbox.
2. Pick one important task where a delay has a real cost.
3. Mark a small first action and a realistic time to try it.
4. Leave lower priority tasks for later.

## Putting it into practice

### Start now

- 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.

### What it looks like

- Start the expiring application before reorganising your folders.
- Choose the reply that unblocks a colleague before browsing optional messages.

### Common mistakes

- If everything is urgent, nothing stands out. Pick the task with the clearest consequence.
- The most important job may feel too big. Pick its smallest useful part.

### A structured start

**Practise choosing before starting**

1. Select one priority at your daily check.
2. Begin a small part before optional tasks.
3. Review what displaced it and adjust tomorrow's plan.

### Trusted how-to guides

- [ABCDE system](https://oxfordhealth.nhs.uk/mindset/skills/time-optimisation/abcde/), Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust

## Sources

- [ABCDE system](https://oxfordhealth.nhs.uk/mindset/skills/time-optimisation/abcde/), Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, 2025 (Tier 1 guideline)
- [Description and Demonstration of CBT for ADHD in Adults](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3874265/), Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 2010 (Tier 2 study)

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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.

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