Lesson 29 — Think Moscow

In more peaceful times, you plan to visit the Russian capital. So much to do, so little time, what will you see? The Kremlin, Red Square, Saint Basil’s Cathedral? If only you had a simple way to prioritise!

Moscow is a really simple tool for prioritising work and getting things done. Never again feel overwhelmed or unclear on what needs to get done. It’s easy to implement and easy for others to get behind. And once explained, it’s rarely forgotten.

The term Moscow is an acronym.

• Must do
  Mission critical items on your list. Your project would fail without their inclusion.

• Should do
  Important but not vital.

• Could do
  Wanted or desirable—but less important.

• Won’t do
  Everything else you’ve agreed not to deliver.
  If we’re talking about specific time-frames, we can rename this category won’t do—for now.

Perfection paralysis occurs when we ignore the must dos and focus on less important tasks. Perfectionists tend to get carried away with the could dos and won’t dos. (I speak from experience!)