We all have priorities. Where it becomes difficult is deciding which priority comes first AKA prioritizing your priorities.

There is a great quote from best-selling author and motivational speaker Brian Tracy where he says, “There is never enough time to do everything, but there is always enough time to do the most important things. What are they?”

This is where I believe the Pareto Principle can be very valuable. Performing an 80/20 analysis, where 80% of outputs come from 20% of inputs, can help differentiate priorities from “must do’s.”

If you the CIO have a list of 10 tasks you do, 2 of those tasks will be worth 5 to 10 times more than the other 8 put together. Then all you have to do is determine what those 2 tasks are.