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iQuestions Faculty, Pat Gelsinger 
 
 
Question: 
 
How do you prioritize your time on the job? 
 
Answer:  
 
In any work environment that you’ll be in, all of a sudden too much 
stuff is hitting your desk, too many things pressing for your time. How 
do you decide which to do? How do you prioritize at all? 
 
You know, the first thing I’d say will sound a little bit simplistic: set 
priorities. Get clear in your mind what are the most important things 
to get done. Which really are the urgent, and which really are the 
important assignments? Pick carefully the work that may be affecting 
other people, that may have them slowed down because they’re 
waiting on you to get something done. Set those clear priorities in 
time. 
 
And then start working that way. Often, when we get too busy, we’ll 
be doing a little bit of this and a little bit of that, and we’ll be time-
slicing between so many things, we get nothing done. Instead, 
sometimes the best thing you can do is say, “That’s job number one. 
I’m not getting interrupted with two, three, and four until I get job 
number one done.” 
 
Also, you want to make sure that those priorities match what your 
boss wants you to do. The worst thing that you could do is to be 
working like crazy and getting job one done, and he says, “No, job 
three was the one I really needed from you.” Make sure you’re in 
synch with him in what he needs from you as well. 
 
 
 
And also, as you’re working, sometimes you’ve just got to put a little 
more of an effort into it. If too many things are hitting your desk right 
now, you may need to say, “OK. I’m going to start a little bit earlier 
this week. I need to cancel some of those other phone meetings or 
whatever may be distracting me to just get the job done.”  
 
But the most important thing is set priorities, and then work against 
those priorities in the most disciplined and consistent way that you 
can. 
 
Gelsinger -2- 
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