Is Carl Pullein’s 2+8 Priority System effective?

Yes it is. That’s the short answer. Yes. It. Is. But I tweak it personally. So here is a slightly longer answer to the question, is Carl Pullein’s 2+8 priority system effective.

The 2+8 System

Let’s open with the problem. We expect to be able to do too much. We plan to do too much. I have said before that when we think of everything we hope to achieve, we often expect to be Superman and get green lights all the way. You plan your day as if what you set out to do will be the only things that cross your plate that day. No interruptions, no distractions. We expect that every task we attempt, will be completed in the minimum amount of time possible. And, we over estimate our own capability and so we under estimate how long things would take, even if they were to take the minimum amount of time. That’s problem one.

Problem two is that we are not always naturally good as deciding what is important. Did you know that technically, the word priority is singular. Only one thing can be your priority. As the old saying goes, if everything is important, then nothing is. Without a plan, we tend to focus our attention on whatever is shouting at us the most loudly in the moment. So, we do not establish a priority for our time and our attention and we treat everything as important.