Use the 'MIT Method' to Meet Your Productivity Goals

So many productivity methods ask you to prioritize your daily tasks by considering how much time or effort they'll require, then tackling the resource-heavy ones. For some people, that's a solid strategy, since you can definitely get some motivation from getting your toughest, most demanding responsibilities out of the way. But you can also find motivation in working toward a bigger goal, so what if you prioritized your tasks based on importance and impact, no matter how big or small they are?

What is the "Most Important Task" method?

The Most Important Task (MIT) method has been cropping up across the productivity blogosphere lately and it's drawing some attention because it flips conventional wisdom on its head, to a point. Instead of starting the day with your most time-consuming or demanding task, like you would if you were following the "eating the frog" framework, you should think bigger when you're using MIT.

When you have a big to-do list, it's easy to focus hard on the specific things you need to do instead of the overall goal you're trying to meet. Reframing your approach to productivity by focusing on your goal instead can motivate you to get more done and achieve better results.

How to use the MIT method

First, you'll need to nail down your goals. You can set SMART goals or combine the MIT method with the Results Planning Method (RPM), which asks you to consider your purpose when planning your day. Take some time to write down your goals—the big ones, the ones that all your daily tasks are ostensibly supposed to move you toward. Think of weekly goals, monthly goals, and annual goals, as well as on-going, longterm ones. Write these down or just keep them in mind, but always think about the broader, bigger picture.

Then, every morning, make a list of two or three Most Important Tasks for the day. These are critical tasks that will have an impact on your goals, but they don't have to be huge or resource-draining. If answering emails from a potential client will move you toward a monthly sales goal, that is more of an MIT than building a presentation for your boss, even though creating the presentation seems like the more demanding, large-scale project. Consider the results of your tasks and prioritize those that have fast or meaningful ones. You want to focus on the two or three tasks that will actually make a difference that very day, moving you toward your goal.

Take care of those two or three tasks first, then handle other, less important tasks from your to-do list for the rest of the day. When using the MIT technique, you should also use a productivity journal to write down your daily to-dos in the morning and reflections on how it all went at night. That nighttime reflection is key: You need to be able to identify and see how taking on those critical tasks impacts your progress toward your goal. That will keep you motivated and moving forward.