The promotion of problems

We all have a list of problems that we’re working through, often put together on some kind of to-do list. It’s great to check things off the list, but it often seems like checking one thing off leads to putting something else on it. You’re not wrong.

In the book “ The Personal MBA “, author Josh Kaufman shares a quote from Gerald Weinberg that sums this up perfectly:

Once you eliminate your number one problem, number two gets a promotion.

This also ties in nicely to my news post from a few days ago. Once the top story has been resolved or fades from view, something else is ready to take over the top spot. This isn’t a problem to be solved, but just a concept to consider.

When it comes to your to-do list, though, the never-ending list can be tough to deal with. That’s where I generally try to set a list of “big three” goals each day, and if I accomplish those I know I’ve done well. Knocking out a few more items on the to-do list might be fine, but I can feel accomplished if I finish those “big three”.

This concept is probably best known from Michael Hyatt’s “Full Focus Planner” ( which I used for a while, and it was excellent), and you can read more about their system here: https://fullfocusplanner.com/system/

However you choose to tackle it, if you can set a short list of main goals for the day and work to accomplish those, having little extras pop up on your to-do list won’t be as much of a problem.

Originally published at https://www.mickmel.com on August 7, 2022.