The Tournament of Priorities: Use Playoff Brackets to Determine Your Actual Priorities
If everything is a priority, then nothing is a priority.
Have you heard the saying, 'If everything is a priority, then nothing is a priority'? When you're feeling stressed and overwhelmed, it’s easy to get caught up in the chaos of endless tasks, all of which seem urgent and important. The pressure to fix everything at once can lead to burnout, especially for high-achieving professionals who feel spread too thin. It’s difficult to determine which tasks truly deserve your time and energy, and which are simply distractions or obligations that you've been conditioned to believe are urgent.
The key to managing this overwhelming feeling is getting clear on your priorities. However, the process of sorting through these priorities isn’t always straightforward. That’s where the Tournament of Priorities comes in—a strategy that helps you break down your tasks and choose the most important ones by making them "compete" in a bracket-style elimination format, much like the NFL playoffs or the NCAA basketball tournament.
If you’ve ever watched an NFL playoff bracket, you know how each team is matched up head-to-head to determine which one moves forward to the championship. Similarly, the Tournament of Priorities helps you match your tasks against each other to identify which one deserves your focus right now. This exercise is designed to help you make intentional decisions about where to direct your time and energy, ultimately reducing stress and improving your productivity.
Understanding the Challenge
As a busy professional, you likely juggle multiple responsibilities at once—work, family, health, social commitments, and personal growth. These responsibilities can easily blend together, creating a sense that everything is urgent and needs your immediate attention. If you’re dealing with chronic stress or burnout, the mental and emotional load can be particularly taxing, leaving you unsure of where to begin.
But here’s the thing: Time and energy are limited resources. So, it’s essential to be strategic. The Tournament of Priorities is an exercise that helps you do just that—strategically evaluate your current tasks and responsibilities by making them compete against each other, just like teams in the NFL playoffs or NCAA tournament.
Here’s how you can play the game:
How to Play the Tournament of Priorities
1. Begin with a Brain Dump
The first step is to get everything out of your head. Grab a piece of paper, a whiteboard, or sticky notes—whatever works best for you. Write down every task or responsibility you feel you need to tackle.
Don’t worry about organization or order at this stage; just get everything out, including work-related tasks, personal commitments, and anything else occupying your mental space. If you’re working on stress management or burnout recovery, include things like "take a walk," "meditate," "eat healthy," or "take time off."
2. Separate Each Task
Once you have everything written down, break them up into individual items. If you're using sticky notes, write one task on each note. If you're using a whiteboard, list each task separately. This is your pool of tasks to consider.
3. Pair Up Your Tasks
Now comes the fun part: pairing up your tasks. Think of each pair as competitors in a bracket-style competition. The idea here is to choose which task you feel is more urgent, helpful, or achievable in the moment. You can start with any two tasks from your list. It doesn't matter which ones you choose; just grab two and compare them.
For example, you might compare:
Task A: Take a 10-minute walk
Task B: Finish that project report
Just like a playoff game, each pair of tasks will "compete" against each other. Whichever task seems to be the better option will advance to the next round.
4. Choose the Winner
For each pair, decide which task should "win." The winner is the one you feel is the most pressing or impactful at this time. Consider factors like:
Which task is most achievable right now?
Which will make the biggest difference to your stress levels or well-being?
Which one aligns with your long-term goals?
Which one reduces the most immediate pressure?
You might choose "Task A" because you’re physically exhausted, and a walk will help clear your mind. Alternatively, "Task B" may win if you’re on a tight deadline and need to wrap up the report to reduce your stress.
The choice isn’t always easy, but trust your instincts. This is about finding your highest priority, not about perfection.
Think of this process like filling out an NFL playoff bracket. In each round, you’re narrowing down your options until you're left with only the most important tasks. The tournament continues until you have a single winner—your next best step.
5. Set Aside the "Losers"
After each round, set aside the tasks that didn’t make the cut. These are your "losers." Don't discard them—they may be important later, but for now, they're not the focus. Let them go for now, and save them for future rounds when you're ready to address them.
6. Move on to the Next Round
Once you've made your selections for the first round, take your winners and repeat the process. Now you’re comparing your strongest options against each other. Keep pairing them up and picking winners until you have narrowed your list down to just two tasks.
Think of this round as the "Final Four" in basketball or the playoffs: it's where the best of the best compete for the ultimate spot. The process becomes clearer as you eliminate weaker competitors.
7. Select Your Ultimate Winner
Eventually, you’ll have one task left standing—your highest priority. This is the task that deserves your time, attention, and energy right now. Whether it’s something related to your health, like committing to a daily workout, or a work task that helps you relieve burnout, this is the action you should focus on next.
At this stage, you're down to the "championship game" in your personal Tournament of Priorities. This is your moment of clarity, where you can confidently move forward with the task that will have the most significant positive impact.
Putting It Into Action: What’s Next?
Once you've identified your top priority, it’s time to act. This exercise doesn't just help you determine the next step in your stress management or burnout recovery journey—it also clarifies how you can approach similar decisions moving forward. In stressful moments, when everything seems urgent, the Tournament of Priorities provides a structured method to cut through the noise and focus on what matters most.
Over time, this process will become faster and more intuitive, but even in the beginning, it’s an invaluable tool to use whenever you feel overwhelmed or unsure of where to focus.
Why the Tournament of Priorities Works
The beauty of this exercise is its simplicity. By pairing up tasks two at a time, you reduce the complexity of decision-making. This makes it easier to sort through what might feel like an overwhelming list of priorities. It also forces you to make hard decisions, helping you break out of the people-pleasing mindset that often keeps you running on empty.
Tournament of Priorities offers a clear, actionable framework to reorient your focus. It can help you recognize that, sometimes, saying no to certain tasks or deferring them to a later time is necessary for your well-being. Your health and wellness are priorities, even if you’ve been neglecting them.
Final Thoughts
Strategic prioritization is crucial for managing stress and recovering from burnout. Time and energy are finite resources, and using the Tournament of Priorities can ensure that you’re focusing your efforts on what truly matters. With this exercise, you’ll build a clearer sense of control and direction, empowering you to tackle your most important tasks with intention and purpose.
The Tournament of Priorities isn’t just about finding your next task; it’s about reclaiming your time and energy in the midst of stress. So next time you feel overwhelmed by a pile of tasks, remember: the battle for your focus starts with a few simple steps.
Choose wisely, and prioritize what will move you toward greater wellness and productivity.
Need Help? Burnout isn’t a mindset problem. It’s a systems problem.
If your performance is dipping and recovery feels impossible, stop guessing.
Get a clear, customized plan rooted in science, not trend cycles.
🧩 Book a free 20-minute strategy consult—let’s fix what’s actually broken.
Article References
The sources cited in the article:
Change Maker Academy (CMA). “The Tournament Technique: Prioritize What Really Matters.” CMA - The Tournament Technique
Precision Nutrition (PN). “3 Self Care Strategies That Work - Tournament of Priorities.” PN - 3 Self Care Strategies that Work
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ). “For the New Year, Figuring Out What Matters Most.” WSJ - Figure Out What Matters Most
John Doerr. “Measure What Matters.” John Doerr - Measure What Matters
Harvard Business Review(HBR). “How to Focus on What’s Important, Not Just What’s Urgent.” HBR - Focus on What’s Important
Forbes. "Eight Critical Prioritization Tips When Everything Seems Important.” Forbes - 8 Critical Prioritization Tips
Harvard Business Review (HBR). "Don’t Feel Guilty for Prioritizing Yourself Over Work.” HBR - Prioritizing Self Over Work
