In today’s fast-paced tech world, it’s tempting to believe we can accomplish it all. The truth, however, is captured beautifully in a phrase I repeat regularly to my team: “We can do anything, but not everything.” This isn’t a limitation; it’s a guiding principle for sustainable productivity and intentional decision-making. When you or your team face an overwhelming workload, the key to progress lies in effective prioritization.
Prioritization: The Compass for Productivity
Not every task holds equal weight. Our minds and ego want to think otherwise, and give every task critical importance: but we must prioritize. Prioritization helps you and your team separate the urgent from the important, the impactful from the peripheral. This applies to individual personal productivity, too. Start by categorizing tasks based on their urgency and importance. The Eisenhower Matrix—a simple tool that divides tasks into four quadrants (urgent/important, not urgent/important, urgent/not important, not urgent/not important)—can be a game-changer. Focus first on tasks that are both urgent and important, delegate or schedule the rest, and say “no” to distractions masquerading as priorities.
Equally critical is recognizing that not everything is an emergency. A constant “firefighting” mentality leads to burnout and poor-quality work. Instead, foster a culture of proactive planning. Identify recurring emergencies and ask: “How can we prevent this from becoming urgent next time?”
The Lie of Multitasking
I wrote about this a couple years ago, and it's never been more true: multitasking is often glorified as the ultimate productivity "skill", but in reality it’s a deceptive trap. A low-value hack, because the human brain isn’t wired to focus on multiple complex tasks simultaneously. Instead, what we call “multitasking” is actually rapid task-switching—and it comes at a cost. Each time you shift focus, your brain expends energy reorienting itself, leading to decreased efficiency and higher chances of mistakes or delays.
Studies show that multitasking can reduce productivity (some show it reduces it by up to 40%!) and significantly impacts the quality of your work. It also increases stress and fosters a false sense of accomplishment, as we confuse busyness with effectiveness. The antidote? Single-tasking. Dedicate your attention to one task at a time, complete it well, and then move to the next. Not only will you finish faster, but the results will also reflect your full potential.
Teamwork and Alignment: Doing the Right Things Together
In a team setting, it’s vital to align around shared goals and clarify roles. When everyone understands the mission and their contribution to it, prioritization becomes a collective effort rather than an individual burden. Tools like Kanban boards or team stand-ups can help visualize workloads and align focus. Be transparent about trade-offs; saying “yes” to one priority often means saying “no” to another. Let the team understand why certain tasks are being deprioritized—this transparency builds trust and reduces friction.
Choosing Your Battles: Strategic Focus
The art of “choosing your battles” applies just as much in the workplace as it does in personal life. Not every hill is worth dying on, and not every task demands perfection. Assess where your efforts will yield the most significant returns. If a task has minimal impact, it might not be worth your time, or not worth doing now ahead of other tasks. On the flip side, strategically investing in a high-impact opportunity—even if it’s challenging—can bring long-term benefits. The trick is you have to learn to choose among multiple priorities, and this is a skill in and of itself. Develop the ability to mindfully, and intentionally, aim your efforts (so ruthlessly prioritize, when needed) and you can triple your work output and accuracy.
A practical way to frame this is to ask, “Does this task align with our core goals?” If the answer is “no,” consider whether it’s worth your energy. Sometimes, letting go of lower-value tasks frees up space for meaningful, high-impact work.
tl;dr The Takeaway: The Power of Focus
Understanding that you can’t do everything doesn’t mean you’re failing—it means you’re human. By focusing on what truly matters, aligning your team’s efforts, and choosing your battles wisely, you harness the power of intentionality. When faced with overwhelming amounts of work and choices, remember: You can do anything, but your greatest strength lies in limiting yourself to doing the right things well.
Adopting this mindset is difficult, it challenges our ego (to stop work on one thing, that may be more fun for the team, and pivot to another thing) and takes practice to be able to do this. But thinking this way doesn’t just improve productivity—it also leads to better results, less stress, and a greater sense of accomplishment. So, take a deep breath, reassess, and aim (the part we don't do naturally, when we want to do it all). Put all your wood behind one single arrow at-a-time, don't multitask endlessly, and watch as you achieve win after win.