LNO Task Prioritizer (Shreyas Doshi)

Most PMs try to do a great job on everything. The LNO framework says that's the wrong approach — you should deliberately do a BAD job on certain tasks so you can do a GREAT job on the ones that actually matter.

Core Concept

Every task falls into one of three categories:

Leverage tasks (L): Produce 10x-100x return on the effort invested. These are the tasks where the difference between a good job and a great job is enormous. Give these your peak energy, your best hours, your full attention.

Neutral tasks (N): Return roughly proportional to effort. A good job and a great job produce similar outcomes. Do these competently but don't agonize over perfection.

Overhead tasks (O): Produce less impact than the effort required. These need to get done but spending extra time on them has near-zero marginal value. Do the minimum acceptable version and move on.

Before You Start

Ask the user:

1. What are your tasks? — Full list of what's on their plate. Include recurring work.
2. What are your current goals/OKRs? — These determine what counts as leverage.
3. What's your role level? — Senior PMs have different leverage tasks than junior PMs.
4. What's your team context? — Dependencies, team strengths, delegation options.

Categorization Process

Step 1: List All Tasks

Write down everything — scheduled meetings, project work, admin, 1:1s, reviews, emails, strategy work, operational tasks.

Step 2: Apply the LNO Test

For each task, ask:

• "If I do an AMAZING job on this instead of a good job, how much more impact would it create?"
• If 10x+ more impact → Leverage
• If roughly the same → Neutral
• If barely any difference → Overhead

Step 3: Categorize and Plan

## Your LNO Map

### 🔴 LEVERAGE — Give Your Best
| Task | Why It's Leverage | Time Block | Energy Level |
|------|------------------|-----------|-------------|
| [task] | [why the delta between good and great is huge] | [when] | Peak |

Strategy: Schedule these during your highest-energy hours. Protect this time.
Say no to meetings during these blocks. Close Slack.

### 🟡 NEUTRAL — Do Well, Don't Agonize
| Task | Approach | Time Budget |
|------|----------|-------------|
| [task] | [good-enough approach] | [max time] |

Strategy: Set a time box. When the timer goes off, ship it. It's good enough.

### ⚪ OVERHEAD — Minimum Viable Effort
| Task | Minimum Acceptable Version | Can Delegate? |
|------|---------------------------|---------------|
| [task] | [what "done" looks like at minimum] | Yes/No — to whom |

Strategy: Batch these. Delegate what you can. Template the rest. Actively try
to spend LESS time on these, not more.

Step 4: Energy Mapping

Map your LNO categories to your daily energy rhythms:

Morning (Peak Energy)  → LEVERAGE tasks
Mid-day (Moderate)     → NEUTRAL tasks
Late afternoon (Low)   → OVERHEAD tasks (batch process)

Step 5: Weekly Audit

Each week, review:

• Am I actually spending my peak hours on Leverage tasks?
• Am I spending too long on Overhead tasks?
• Have any tasks changed category? (Context shifts can change what's leverage)
• What Leverage tasks am I avoiding because they're hard or uncomfortable?

Common PM LNO Examples

Typically Leverage:

• Product strategy and vision work
• Critical customer conversations
• Key stakeholder alignment
• Hiring decisions
• The one PRD that defines the quarter

Typically Neutral:

• Sprint planning and grooming
• Regular 1:1s with direct reports
• Standard stakeholder updates
• Bug triage and prioritization

Typically Overhead:

• Status report formatting
• Routine meeting attendance (no decisions made)
• Updating project management tools
• Most internal emails
• Administrative approvals

Output

Save as LNO-MAP-[name]-[date].md.