One of my favorite posts is the tactic of visualizing your priorities using a bullseye. I like the tangible feedback one gets realizing that not everything fits into the bullseye. There is limited real estate in the center to place only the most important priorities on your list.

If you consider the geometry of a bullseye with concentric rings, the area in the very center is just over 10% of the overall area of the circle. The outer ring is over half the area of the circle. This ratio rings true to me as I consider how I regularly prioritize.

I try keep my top priorities to a list of three things. There are non-negotiable items like staff management, professional development, and coaching that require a baseline of my dedicated time. I have all sorts of extra initiatives vying for my attention. I know that for me to effectively deliver on my priorities the list needs to be short. If I sat down and enumerated all the possible items on the list it would easily be twenty-five to thirty items long.

Picking the top three items from this list is hard, and is exactly what bullseye prioritization requires you do. Maybe you can fit fifteen sticky notes around the outer ring, but you can only fit three in the center without starting to feel crowded.

How do you choose which items belong in the center? I like using simple screening questions. One of the best screening questions I use is "Am I the only person who can do this?" Bullseye prioritization is about determining where you should spend your time, not just the importance of initiatives across the business.

There are important deliverables to which your contribution is not key. You may need to monitor progress and ensure results are being delivered. If your team is on-track and delivering, this initiative is likely not one of your top priorities.

What initiatives require your time and energy to ensure success? What results are the core measure of success in your job? What failures would warrant your removal from your position? These questions may seem extreme. As you choose to spend your time on anything that is not that which delivers the best result to your organization is sub-optimal.