High - Important, do soon

Major UX degradation
Key feature broken
Significant performance issue
Blocks other work

Medium - Should do

Quality of life improvements
Tech debt with growing cost
Minor feature gaps
Developer experience issues

Low - Nice to have

Polish and refinement
Minor optimizations
Cosmetic improvements
Future-proofing

Step 2: Assess Effort

Level	Time	Examples
Quick	< 30 min	Fix typo, add missing null check, update copy
Small	< 2 hours	Add new component, fix bug with clear cause
Medium	< 1 day	New feature, refactor module, integration work
Large	Multi-day	Major feature, architecture change, migration

Step 3: Apply Priority Matrix

	Quick	Small	Medium	Large
Critical	DO NOW	DO NOW	DO NOW	Plan & Start
High	DO NOW	Next	Next	Plan
Medium	Next	Queue	Queue	Backlog
Low	Queue	Backlog	Backlog	Skip/Defer

Step 4: Check Dependencies

Before finalizing order:

What must happen before this task?
What does completing this unblock?
Are there resource constraints?
What's the cost of delay?

Reorder based on dependencies - a Medium task that unblocks 3 High tasks moves up.

Step 5: Sequence for Flow

Group related work together:

Fix all issues in one file before moving to the next
Complete a feature end-to-end before starting another
Address blocking issues before blocked ones

Output Requirements

Update SOURCE_OF_TRUTH.md with prioritized list:

## Current Priority Stack

### DO NOW (This Session)
1. [ ] [Critical/Quick] Fix auth crash on login - blocks all users
2. [ ] [Critical/Small] Patch XSS in comments - security issue

### NEXT (Soon)
3. [ ] [High/Small] Add error boundary to dashboard
4. [ ] [High/Medium] Implement retry logic for API calls

### QUEUE (This Week)
5. [ ] [Medium/Small] Refactor keyword fetching
6. [ ] [Medium/Medium] Add loading skeletons

### BACKLOG (Future)
7. [ ] [Low/Large] Rewrite onboarding flow
8. [ ] [Low/Medium] Add dark mode

Also create focused todo list using TodoWrite for the current session.

Rules

Impact over effort - A critical issue is always more important than easy wins
Dependencies first - Unblock before building
Be ruthless - Not everything needs to be done now
Revisit regularly - Priorities change as context changes
Limit WIP - Maximum 2-3 items in "DO NOW" at once

Decision Helpers

When two items seem equal:

Which affects more users?
Which has been waiting longer?
Which aligns with current goal?
Which reduces future work?

When everything feels critical:

Step back and reassess with fresh eyes
Ask: "What's the ONE thing that matters most right now?"
Consider: What would a user notice first?

Transition

After prioritization:

Top priorities clear → Proceed to Execution System
Blocked by unknowns → Return to Clarity System
Need to understand issues better → Return to Identity System

This is System 3 of 5: Clarity → Identity → Priority → Execution → Reset

prioritize

Priority System

Prioritization Framework

Step 1: Categorize by Impact