It’s widely acknowledged that startups that fail to focus on the right things are unlikely to succeed. While focus isn’t the only key to success, it’s undeniably crucial. Prioritization happens both at the organizational and individual levels. Today, I’d like to share my system for individual prioritization. It might work as is for some, with tweaks for others, or inspire entirely different systems. Regardless, the central point is this: without a systematic approach to prioritization, you’re likely not prioritizing effectively—a potential recipe for failure as a startup founder unless someone else manages your time for you, which is a rare luxury for founders.
Beyond its role in success, a solid system also reduces daily stress. It provides a clear mission for the day, allowing you to focus on execution with confidence. This approach significantly lowers stress, which is critical for mental health.
Here’s how my system works:
Around 4:00 AM, I wake up, prepare a small breakfast (lately, homemade bread, salami, and cheese), and make coffee. I sit at the counter with my Kindle Scribe—my upgrade from pen and paper, which I’ve found to be a game-changer. I created a new task page with 15 pre-drawn lines with checkboxes. Interestingly, I’ve discovered that 15 daily tasks are the perfect number.
I consult various sources of “work”—email, calendar, Slack, CRM, messaging apps, company objectives, and personal OKRs. From these, I compile my list of 15 tasks. Work-related tasks are listed at the top of the page, and personal tasks are at the bottom. This process takes about 15 minutes, with pauses to refill my coffee or grab the baby monitor. Once I’ve listed the tasks, I ask myself: Am I doing any of these out of pressure, or are they the most impactful things I could do today? After this reflection, my first draft is done.
Next, I annotate each task with two key pieces of information:
- Task type – a one-letter code (e.g., C for customer, M for marketing).
- Time allocation – the estimated number of minutes I’ll spend on it, rounded to 15-minute intervals (e.g., [C-30]).
I calculate the time and check if my allocation aligns with business priorities. If it feels unbalanced, I adjust by replacing lower-priority tasks or tweaking time estimates. I aim for ~8 hours on a regular day, 10 hours on busy days, and 6 hours when I need a lighter schedule. This time accounts for actual work—excluding breaks, distractions, or idle moments. If I exceed my target, I either trim tasks or increase efficiency by allocating less time per task.
With time budgeted, I prioritize the list, numbering tasks from 1 to 15. I consider:
- Task difficulty and type (e.g., discussions, emails, write-ups).
- Category prioritization (e.g., customers over sales).
- Mental strain and the need for focus (e.g., tackling complex tasks before interruptions).
- Dependencies (e.g., tasks blocking others).
- Timing (e.g., meetings).
- Impact of delays.
- Tasks outside my control (e.g., waiting for responses or scheduled meetings) are marked with an asterisk (*).
Finally, I visualize each task, imagining myself completing it in detail. This helps validate time estimates, ensure feasibility, ease the mental load, and prepare me for smooth execution.
By 5:00 AM, I’m usually ready to start grinding. On a standard day, I aim to finish by 3:30–4:00 PM, leaving time for a walk with my kids, a sauna session, or an early start on dinner. Most days, the 10–11 hours seem to fly by. I follow a mini version of this system on weekends, limiting work to 2–3 hours before my kids wake up.
Here’s what my task list looks like in practice:
I hope I have encouraged you to develop your prioritization system and to benefit from productivity gain and stress reduction.
Darko