The Time Crunch: Prioritizing When Everything Feels Important
Have you ever sat down to plan your day, looked at your to-do list, and thought, “Cool, so I need 47 hours today. Great.” Same.
When everything feels urgent, important, or just screaming for your attention (hello, laundry pile that’s now a third roommate), it can feel impossible to prioritize. Your Adult Ego State is yelling “be responsible,” your Inner Child wants snacks and Netflix, and your Critical Parent is suggesting you organize your email inbox by color code at midnight. No wonder you’re overwhelmed.
Let’s sort that out. It’s time to take the panic out of prioritizing with three practical tips
Tip #1: The ‘One Thing’ Rule (Also Known as “Calm Down, Brenda”)
When everything feels equally important, do one thing. Just one.
CBT teaches us that anxiety thrives on overwhelm. That racing thought spiral of “I need to do all the things right now” often leads us to doing… none of the things. Enter: paralysis by analysis. The antidote? Pick. One. Thing.
Ask yourself:
What’s the one thing I can do right now that will move me forward?
What task, if done, would make the rest easier?
This method cuts through the chaos. And honestly, sometimes “one thing” is just taking a shower. That still counts. Especially if it’s your first in a few days. No judgment.
Tip #2: Use the Eisenhower Matrix (And Feel Like a Time Wizard)
Yes, it sounds fancy. But the Eisenhower Matrix is just a smart little four-box tool that helps you sort your tasks into:
Urgent & Important – Do these now.
Important, Not Urgent – Schedule them.
Urgent, Not Important – Delegate (if you can).
Neither – Delete or delay.
Think of it like organizing a sock drawer, but for your responsibilities. Once you put things into boxes, you stop letting everything feel like a fire drill. Spoiler: responding to every email immediately is not a life-or-death situation. Unless you’re a brain surgeon. In which case… what are you doing reading blogs right now?
Tip #3: Don’t Be a Martyr – Ask for Help
Let’s be real. Many of us struggle to ask for help because we think it’s a sign of weakness. But in therapy (and life), we know: it’s actually a sign of health.
Emotion-Focused and Gottman therapies both tell us that connection thrives on shared responsibility. You don’t need to be the lone superhero managing everything alone while quietly falling apart. That’s not strength, that’s burnout wearing a cape.
Delegate where you can. That might mean asking your partner to cook dinner, your colleague to take a meeting, or even telling your kids, “Congratulations, you’re now the laundry team.” Life isn’t meant to be done solo.
Bonus Humor Break: Prioritization in Real Life
Here’s what prioritizing often looks like:
You sit down to pay bills.
Remember you need to respond to that email.
Go to check email but see a meme.
Spend 25 minutes in a meme rabbit hole.
Decide now is the perfect time to rearrange the spice rack
The brain is a funny place.
It’s not about being perfect with your time, it’s about recognizing when you’re reacting versus choosing. Choosing = power. Reacting = spice rack.
Conclusion: Prioritize Like You Love Yourself
When you prioritize your time well, you're telling yourself, “Hey, I matter. My energy is finite. My peace is worth protecting.” It’s not selfish, it’s self-preservation.
So next time you’re drowning in tasks, remember:
Pick one thing.
Sort the rest.
Ask for help.
You don’t need to do it all. You just need to do what matters, one thing at a time.
