Do the Hard Part First

It may seem unimportant, trivial, or even masochistic to a few of you. But it really helps me to do what I do not like first.

If I have three projects to get done at about the same time I do the one that will be the most difficult, or the one that I like the least, first. If I visit the hospital to call on three patients, I go to the one who is rather negative first, and the one who is always fun last. If a point of the sermon is clearly more complicated than another, I will choose to work on the complicated portion before the easier ones.

The benefits to this practice are numerous. For one thing, it’s good discipline, which is what our bodies and souls need. We can have peak energy for the hardest tasks. When the hardest task is the only thing left to do, we easily dilly-dally (I’m trying to revive that old expression) longer than when there is more to do.

I find that the more difficult the task greater the feeling of accomplishment when it is done. I tend to get more done in less time when I choose to function this way. How does it work with you? Are you the kind of person who prioritizes the difficult tasks? Does this work for you, or have you found the opposite to be true?