LNO framework
As a perfectionist, prioritization can be hard and delegation even harder. I take pride in doing things perfectly and because I cannot control others, I instinctively prefer to do things myself.
However, as my responsibilities have grown, I have had to prioritize and delegate more.
Recently I came across the LNO framework from Shreyas Doshi which have been very helpful in prioritizing my to-do list.
Tasks are not created equal.
Some deserve your full attention, others don’t.
The LNO framework splits tasks into three buckets: leverage, neutral and overhead.
| Effort | Goal | |
| Leverage task | ~10X | Do a great job |
| Neutral task | ~1X | Do a strictly good job |
| Overhead task | <1X | Just get it done |
As a perfectionist, aiming to do a bad job does not mean that you actually end up doing a bad job. Rather, by actively trying to do a bad job so you end up doing an ok job, which is what overhead tasks deserve.
I have started to categorize my to-do list using this framework and it has been helping me a lot. I have to admit that I still struggle quite a bit but adapting takes time.
The main difficulty for me has been to recognize overhead tasks. It’s easy to see everything as being super important. However, the reality is that there are not that many leverage tasks.
As my to-do list has expanded, I’m learning to more ruthlessly categorize it.
I’m now trying to combine this LNO framework with the Eisenhower matrix:
| Urgent | Not urgent | |
| Important | Do it | Schedule it |
| Not important | Delegate it | Delete it |
Bottom line: all tasks are not equal. To many, this may be an obvious fact, but for me it’s a helpful reminder that not everything has to be perfect.
