Founders, how do you prioritise your daily tasks?

Question

👒 As founders, we often wear multiple hats: product manager, engineer, marketer, all in a single day.

🧐 I'm curious to hear how other founders manage the context switching and the different types of thinking and focus required for these different roles.

Ryan Hoover · Accepted Answer

@aaronoleary tbh, I wouldn't say I have the best process but my best tip is to maintain strong personal habits and routines. Knowing when you're most productive for specific activities (e.g. creative work) and scheduling your day around that can be very helpful.

Ryan Hoover · Answer

@hosseinyazdi thanks, Hossein! I've done several interviews over the years (you can find a ton of podcasts with me if interested). Maybe I'll do another AMA when I have more new things I can talk about. :)

Ariton Zanev · Answer

First, I identify long-term and short-term goals, to align my daily tasks with my objectives.

I then assess the effort required and the potential impact of each task. I prioritize tasks that have a high impact and can be completed within a reasonable timeframe.

I try to avoid multitasking, and I utilize a project management platform for task organization and management.

And I regularly review my priorities. As circumstances change, we need to be flexible and adjust accordingly!

Joelle TEMATIO · Answer

I have not adhered to a strict schedule so far and mostly worked on the tool the tool and the tool. Now that I am getting closer to the launch, I have set up a planning with three hours chunks allocated to specific activities to ensure I do make the required progress on marketing, communication, content creation as well. 
How do you organise yourself @Pauwlyn ?

Damien · Answer

- Split what's important vs what's urgent. 
- Follow clients and partners asap.
- Zoom-out twice a week to remember important and heavy tasks that need to be done 
- Keep a minimal healthy routine

Tornike Phkhovelishvili · Answer

Not so direct answer about prioritization, but here is what I do: I always start with tasks that are more creative and need a lot of critical thinking. I leave the repetitive tasks for the end of the day because they are always easier to do even if I am super tired.

Hossein Yazdi · Answer

@rrhoover Hey Ryan, I wish you would host an AMA here. 
I believe MANY makers here are thirsty to learn from your experience! Can you schedule a time for it?

Brian Yip · Answer

Not a founder, but one of the best habits I started this year was starting a journal (using Reflect) and writing down my thoughts at the end of each day. It's helped me process better, and I'm able to start my day with a clear idea of what to tackle, change, etc.

It's been really helpful to break things down:
• Things that are top of mind
• Things I liked
• Things that I could have done better
• Things to do

Aaron O'Leary · Answer

@rrhoover would love to hear your thoughts on this, was always curious how you managed so much on a day to day basis especially in the earlier days!

Joseph Abraham · Answer

I've observed successful founders prioritize tasks that align with their long-term vision and delegate tasks that do not.

Youcef El Kamel · Answer

I do what I have to do (because of deadline) and then what I wanna do

Paulwyn · Answer

Thanks for sharing, Joelle!

I try and spend 15-20 mins every morning planning out my day, and writing down my 'non-negotiables' which are the highest priority tasks for the day. The prioritisation is based on assessing which tasks will move the needle most towards the goal we are working towards: launch, $X in revenue, etc. So each day would be different, but it's the intentional thought and being clear on the non-negotiables that makes the biggest impact.

The days where I do this, I have a lot of clarity on what my day looks like. This means I can allocate blocks of focus time for tasks that need it. And I finish the day feeling a sense of accomplishment. When I don't, my days are chaotic, and at the end of the day I don't feel like I achieved much.

Agree with what @rrhoover says too in his reply that personal habits and routines make a huge difference. Building consistency is hard when you get pulled in 20 different directions though!

Founders, how do you prioritise your daily tasks?

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