Badass Agile

Episode 65 – Task Level Prioritization With Stickies and Dots

Listen Later

We are accustomed to prioritizing backlogs – product and sprint – but we may not be as accustomed to prioritizing our day. This technique is often overlooked by teams, and yet how often do we find the day has gotten away from us because we made a choice to work on something that may not have been the highest-value target?

  • The solution is easy and cheap – a pad of index-card sized sticky notes and a sharpie pen
  • In no particular order, write down all your ‘todos’ for the day. It’s ok to include non-project or personal items.
  • Leave at least 1/4 of the card free for new items as the day progresses.
  • Find ONE top priority item and give it 5 dots. Give everything else a 4 or a 3. For things that are unclear, give it 1 dot.
  • Tackle the ONE and ONLY ONE 5-star first. Only after its done can you move to the next-highest item. Find a 4, and make it a 5.
  • You can change priorities any time – just add more dots to move it up higher.
  • This method is incredibly intuitive, forces you to stay focused and finish work, is simple and portable.
    • ...more
    View all episodesView all episodes
    Download on the App Store
    Badass AgileBy Fuse Chamber, Inc
    • 5
    • 5
    • 5
    • 5
    • 5

    5

    24 ratings

    More shows like Badass Agile

    View all
    Pop Culture Happy Hour by NPR

    Pop Culture Happy Hour

    10,927 Listeners

    Meta-Cast by Bob Galen & Josh Anderson

    Meta-Cast

    42 Listeners

    Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast: Agile storytelling from the trenches by Vasco Duarte, Agile Coach, Certified Scrum Master, Certified Product Owner

    Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast: Agile storytelling from the trenches

    181 Listeners

    The Daily by The New York Times

    The Daily

    111,382 Listeners

    Troubleshooting Agile by A weekly problem-solving session for all things agile

    Troubleshooting Agile

    12 Listeners

    Modern Wisdom by Chris Williamson

    Modern Wisdom

    3,729 Listeners

    Verbrechen by ZEIT ONLINE

    Verbrechen

    306 Listeners

    Mordlust by Paulina Krasa & Laura Wohlers

    Mordlust

    194 Listeners

    The Journal. by The Wall Street Journal & Gimlet

    The Journal.

    5,917 Listeners

    Morning Brew Daily by Morning Brew

    Morning Brew Daily

    2,955 Listeners

    Drunk Agile by Dan Vacanti & Prateek Singh

    Drunk Agile

    5 Listeners

    Product Thinking by Melissa Perri

    Product Thinking

    144 Listeners

    Ve vatě by Seznam Zprávy

    Ve vatě

    5 Listeners

    Agile Mentors Podcast by Brian Milner and Guests

    Agile Mentors Podcast

    44 Listeners

    BigDeal by Codie Sanchez

    BigDeal

    727 Listeners