Task discounting is the phenomenon whereby people assign more value to near-term or simple tasks than they do to future or complex tasks, even if these tasks hold more value. Have you ever really stepped outside your business and challenged yourself to answer a simple question: Why do I do the tasks I do?
If you are like me your workweek is made up of a huge basket of tasks. Some are easy and rewarding, while others are not so easy and far less rewarding. It’s easy to do the easy and rewarding tasks first, but such a practice will often lead to sub-par overall performance. Each task is designed to achieve a certain outcome. Some tasks have a greater return to the company, while some tasks are prerequisites to completing more important complex tasks. However, some tasks are there for no other reason than they make you feel good or are left over from a legacy process that no longer has any value. As an entrepreneur, time is your most critical asset. You can’t afford to spend time on tasks that do not produce the best return on your business.
A successful entrepreneur must track the typical tasks he performs and conduct an analysis of each task to determine the cost/benefit to the business. This process often involves assigning an absolute value to a task that is hard to truly quantify. However, without an understanding of a task’s value in the grand scheme of things, one can’t make a decision regarding the contribution value of two different tasks. If you didn’t know the value of a quarter compared to a dollar, you very well might consider a transaction where you exchanged one dollar for two quarters to be a good trade.
