Rethinking Task Prioritization: Introducing the Morgen Priority Factor

There never seem to be enough hours in the day. While we can’t add more, there is another possibility: dedicate more of the hours you have to responsibilities that matter.

Yet we know this is easier said than done.

Our to-do lists exceed our capacity, tasks take longer than anticipated, and urgent to-dos land on our desks derailing even the best-laid plans. It becomes hard to separate the tasks that matter from the noise.

Most to-do apps and project management tools try to help by letting you assign a priority level to each task. We used to do this too.

But you may have noticed, Morgen tasks no longer have priority levels. The reason: when we assign tasks high, medium, and low priority status, we treat priority levels as absolute and static. In reality, priorities are relative and dynamic.

If we have three high-priority tasks, which one should we tackle first? What do we shuffle when another high-priority task lands on our desk?

These questions led us to simultaneously remove manual priority assignments in Morgen and develop the Morgen Priority Factor (MPF). The MPF, a dynamic calculation based on multiple dimensions, identifies which tasks deserve your attention and when.

Priority vs. Importance: What’s the Difference?

The terms ‘priority’ and ‘importance’ are often used interchangeably. Yet when deciding how to spend our time, their distinctions matter.

Sometimes, a task must be prioritized even if it’s not important. For example, consider recycling day. Your recycling is collected at 8 am. Missing that deadline means your bins will overflow next week. It’s not ideal, but hardly catastrophic. This task is urgent (time-sensitive), but not important (it won’t significantly impact your life).

Now, consider the important task of applying for an academic grant. It has the potential to impact your career. The application is due in six months and will take one week to write. It is of high importance but certainly isn’t urgent—yet.

Key Differences Between Priority and Importance

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Ultimately, we concluded that priority should be a derived property, not a static value. That’s why MPF is calculated dynamically based on multiple dimensions and adjusted responsively over time.

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The Motivation Behind the Morgen Priority Factor

MPF removes the guesswork, adapts to your changing load, and ensures your schedule reflects your goals and constraints. Replacing manual priority-setting with intelligent computation enables a real-time prioritization of tasks without frequently needing to reassess your plan.

MPF is calculated based on the following dimensions:‍

• ‍Importance: How critical is this task to your long-term goals? What is the impact of not completing this task?‍
• Due date: How soon must this task be completed? Is there a date after which there’s no point in doing it?‍
• Duration: How much time will this task take? ‍
• Capacity: How much time is available to spend on this task today and in the coming days?
• ‍Activity: When was the task created or last updated?

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Like most task managers, we previously put the onus of priority setting on you. Meanwhile, when we asked Morgen users about the challenges of planning their time, resoundingly they described how hard it is to know what is most important on any given day. The struggle to isolate the highest-priority tasks left them feeling busy, but not always effective.  

We retired our static “priority” field and replaced it with “importance.” Now MPF computes actionable priorities without forcing you to consider all the contributing factors. It can be applied as a sorting criterion for task filtering and is used by Morgen’s AI Planner to recommend and schedule tasks.

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A Principled Approach to MPF

The MPF model is computed based on several principles informed by behavior science, practical task management, and usage patterns.  

1. Deadlines come first: Tasks with imminent due dates are prioritized, regardless of their importance.

2. Importance amplifies priority: Between two tasks with similar deadlines, the more important one is prioritized. High-impact tasks naturally rise to the top.

3. Unscheduled tasks stay relevant: Tasks without due dates are interpreted as to be done when time is available. These are prioritized over tasks with distant deadlines but fall behind those due soon.

4. Urgency diminishes over time for overdue tasks*: Repeatedly ignored tasks gradually decrease in priority, reflecting their declining relevance.

5. Recent activity signals relevance: Recent edits or reviews of tasks signal relevance, thereby receiving a small priority boost.

6. Quick wins are encouraged: Short tasks receive higher priority to build momentum. Completing these can provide a psychological boost and clear mental space for larger challenges.

7. Uncertainty requires attention: Tasks with unclear or underestimated duration are prioritized to reduce the risk of overruns.

Your approach to work is highly personal, shaped by your goals, workflows, and preferences. An ideal tool should allow users to tune the underlying assumptions that set their priorities. We’re working toward an adjustable model in which users will be able to turn the weight of each dimension up or down, providing greater personalization.

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*Overdue Tasks Lose Urgency Over Time

The most controversial aspect of our prioritization model is the assumption that overdue tasks lose urgency over time.

We treat due dates as strict with an assumption that the success of completing the task is contingent on meeting the deadline. This is why due dates are the most heavily weighted factor in calculating MPF, giving precedence to tasks with clear deadlines.

We recognize that in some cases due dates are critical, whereas in other instances they are targets. When tasks with deadlines are repeatedly ignored we interpret that to mean the deadline was not strict.

This may happen for a variety of reasons

1. Shifting priorities: New tasks demand immediate attention, sidelining overdue tasks.

2. Flexible deadlines: The original due date was aspirational and self-imposed, with low consequences if missed.

3. External factors: Circumstances influencing the task's urgency may have shifted. For instance, if a client extends their timeline, a task of yours on which they are dependent may lose urgency.

How Morgen handles this

Morgen dynamically adapts MPF for overdue tasks to reflect shifts in relevance.

1. Initial weight: When a task's due date is near or just passed, it retains a high MPF. In these cases, we assume the due date is strict.

2. Decay mechanism: If the task remains overdue and is repeatedly ignored, the MPF gradually decreases. This doesn’t mean the task is forgotten—it simply acknowledges that the due date may not have been as critical as originally thought.

3. Long-term equilibrium: Eventually, the MPF of an overdue task converges to the same level as tasks without a due date, signaling that it can be addressed when convenient.

For example, imagine you set a due date for completing an internal training module by this Friday. If the deadline passes and the task remains incomplete, MPF considers it urgent for a short period. However, if you continue to push it off in favor of other tasks, its priority level begins to decrease. This decay reflects that the deadline wasn't as strict or significant as initially presumed. The task stays on your radar but is no longer prioritized over more pressing items.

The benefit of this approach

This dynamic system reflects the reality of modern workflows. By acknowledging the flexibility of certain deadlines, Morgen reduces unnecessary pressure while still keeping tasks visible. It balances the rigor of honoring deadlines with the practicality of shifting priorities, ensuring that your task list adapts to your needs without becoming overwhelming.

After all, deadlines matter—but only as much as they do to you.

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Why Morgen’s Approach Matters

MPF represents a shift from static to dynamic task prioritization. It saves you time by automating the evaluation process, ensuring your schedule reflects what’s most pressing and achievable.

Your input however is key to its success. Here’s how you contribute to its accuracy:

1. Set accurate due dates

Due dates are the foundation of prioritization. Assign them thoughtfully to ensure tasks are tackled on time.

How to do it:

• Use due dates for tasks with clear deadlines or external dependencies, like submitting reports or attending meetings.
• Avoid unnecessary deadlines for tasks without time pressure so they can be prioritized naturally.
• When tasks become overdue, reassess their due dates. Make the conscious decision to either act on the task or update its due date.

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2. Estimate task durations realistically

Morgen uses task durations to fit your workload into your available capacity. Yet we know that realistic time estimates are hard and our brains are biased towards underestimating how long a task will take.

How to do it:

• Break large tasks into smaller, more manageable steps. Most people can size small tasks more accurately than large, multi-pronged tasks.
• Add a buffer to your estimates to account for underestimates or enable the 20% task duration inflation in Morgen’s AI Planner settings.
• Reflect on past projects to consider how long comparable tasks took.

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3. Thoughtfully assess task importance

Accurately rating importance helps Morgen compute meaningful priorities.

How to do it:

• Focus on a task’s long-term impact: Does it advance your goals, projects, work, or life? Conversely, what is the long-term impact of not completing the task?
• When another tool asks you to set the “priority” of a task ask yourself whether you want to use the field as Priority or Importance. Do not mix them.
• Regularly revisit and adjust task importance as you learn to assess it over time.

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With these small but high-impact habits, you’ll supercharge Morgen’s ability to adapt to your workflow, helping you hone in on what truly matters.