Checklist of 13 of the 80/20 Prioritization Models

Question 1

Bottleneck Analysis

Answer 1

What’s the one thing most stopping me from achieving my most important goal? What are my personal blind spots?

Question 2

Critical Path Method (CPM)

Answer 2

Of all the tasks I’m working on, which project path would delay the overall project if I did not work on it right now?

Question 3

ICE Method

Answer 3

What are the impact, confidence, and ease (ICE) of this? How does this compare to the ICE score other things I could do?

Question 4

The Eisenhower Matrix

Answer 4

What is most important and not urgent that I may be neglecting?

Question 5

Regret Minimization Framework

Answer 5

If I were on my deathbed looking back on this moment, how would I make this decision?

Question 6

The One Thing

Answer 6

What’s the one thing I could do now that would make everything else easier?

Question 7

Productivity Pyramid

Answer 7

What can I focus on today that has the highest value over my lifetime?

Question 8

First Things First

Answer 8

What are the core things I need to get right? How can I do them first thing in the morning?

In order to guarantee we get the important stuff done, we should do it first.

Question 9

True North

Answer 9

What are my core values?

Question 10

Sufficiency vs. Maximization

Answer 10

Which tasks potentially yield the largest return?

Some activities have diminishing returns and should be done to Sufficiency.

Other activities yield exponential returns. The more you invest, the more you get back and should be Maximized.

Question 11

Hurdle Rate

Answer 11

What is the minimum threshold of return that an opportunity must surpass in order for you to take action on it?

Question 12

First Principles

Answer 12

First Principles reasoning backs up from such questions and instead asks: “What is possible? What should be done? How can I increase the odds of it happening?” - This set of questions leads to a fundamentally different approach to life. It boils a situation down to its most fundamental truths and then reasons out from there.

Question 13

Levels of System Intervention (12)

Answer 13

How can I influence the system in the way I want with the least amount of effort?

Donella Meadows list of interventions (in increasing order of effectiveness):

1. The power to transcend paradigms.
2. The mindset or paradigm out of which the system—its goals, structure, rules, delays,

parameters—arises.

3. The goals of the system.
4. The power to add, change, evolve, or self-organize system structure.
5. The rules of the system (such as incentives, punishments, constraints).
6. The structure of information flows (who does and does not have access to
   information) .
7. The gain around driving positive feedback loops.
8. The strength of negative feedback loops, relative to the impacts they are trying to

correct against.

9. The lengths of delays, relative to the rate of system change.
10. The structure of material stocks and flows (such as transport networks, population

age structures).

11. The sizes of buffers and other stabilizing stocks, relative to their flows.
12. Constants, parameters, numbers (such as subsidies, taxes, standards).