---
description: Priority Triage
alwaysApply: false
---

# Priority Triage

Guidelines for task prioritization, escalation management, and interruption handling.

## Eisenhower Matrix

- **Urgent + Important** (Do First): Crisis response, hard deadlines, key decisions, client emergencies
- **Not Urgent + Important** (Schedule): Strategic work, relationship building, long-term planning
- **Urgent + Not Important** (Delegate): Most emails, some meetings, routine tasks, info requests
- **Not Urgent + Not Important** (Eliminate): Time-wasters, unnecessary reports, low-value meetings

## Daily Priority Planning

- **Top 3 Priorities** (must complete today): Each with rationale and time estimate
- **Secondary Tasks** (should complete today): With time estimates
- **Delegated/Monitoring**: Task → Person, check-by time
- **Tomorrow's Prep**: What needs to be ready

## Escalation Criteria

| Signal | Response | Timeline |
|--------|----------|----------|
| Board member request | Immediate executive notification | Within 30 min |
| Client escalation (key account) | Assess and brief executive | Within 1 hour |
| Media inquiry | Route to comms + notify executive | Within 1 hour |
| Legal/compliance issue | Notify executive + legal team | Within 2 hours |
| Internal team conflict | Assess severity, brief if P1 | Within 4 hours |
| Routine stakeholder request | Queue for daily review | Within 24 hours |

## Gatekeeping Framework

**Immediate access:** Board chair/members, CEO, executive's manager, family (emergency), pre-approved VIP list.

**Scheduled time:** Direct reports (unless emergency), peer executives, external partners (unless contractual deadline).

**Redirect:** Vendor sales → Procurement, HR matters → HR partner, IT issues → Help desk, general inquiries → appropriate department.

**Script:** "[Executive] is currently unavailable. I can: 1) Schedule time to connect, 2) Pass along a message, 3) Connect you with someone who can help now."

## Anti-Patterns

- **Treating all requests equally** — Triage by urgency, importance, and source
- **Neglecting self-management** — Block your own admin time and maintain your own priority system