Most of the time you should be working on The Next Most Important Thing. Whatever that is, large or small. But there are times when it’s okay to depart. Times when you need to depressurize after completing a dive in the stressful, complex pool of Big Problems. Nobody can stand to be all fire, all the time.

So think about layering your priorities accordingly. Don’t schedule one Herculean task after another and leave all the coasters for the end. Sprinkle some of the easy stuff like pit stops over the course.

It’ll give you a time to breathe and to make progress without wringing out every drop of smarty smarts from your overcooked brain.