People affected by ADHD tend to put off what they should be doing and put their attention elsewhere. This can result in running out of time to get important things done. That is when it is time to triage. In the medical world triage is determining how to prioritize patient care. “The term comes from the French verb trier, meaning to separate, sort, shift or select.” (Wikipedia)
When we triage what we have to get done we are sorting through the tasks determining what is most important and urgent. Often because we have left things to the last minute and are running out of time, we have to select what is going to get done now and what can wait for later. These are often hard choices. We feel everything has to happen now. Unfortunately, that is often not possible so we are left to separate, sort, shift or select. We need to separate out the most crucial task and get it done first so that the patient doesn’t die.
Triage is a rapid process because the point is to determine which action to take first in order to best salvage the situation when you have a little time. Often this means making tough choices as to what gets done in time and what doesn’t. The key is to make the choice and then take immediate action. Not waste time fretting about your choices and what might not get done. That results in wasted energy. Energy that could be better used in taking action.
Next time you have too much to do and too little time, take a moment to triage. Separate the tasks out, sort them by importance and select what action to take first. Then take action.