What should you do with tasks that have low impact relative to effort?

• A. Increase effort to complete quickly.
• B. Start them first.
• C. Delegate or defer.
• D. Reorganize sub-tasks.

Answer: (C)

This question tests how to prioritize tasks by impact relative to the effort required. When a task would take a lot of time or energy but doesn't move your main goal forward much, the smartest move is to delegate it or defer it. Delegating means having someone else handle it, which frees your time for high-impact work. Deferring means postponing until it’s truly needed or until you have more bandwidth.

This approach keeps you focused on high-value activities, like studying for exams, completing major assignments, or addressing tasks that directly affect your progress. For example, lengthy formatting or minor proofreading in a group project can often be handed off to a teammate or done later when the core work is complete. Trying to “power through” a low-impact task just to finish it uses up time you could spend on more important tasks, without changing its value.

Reorganizing subtasks can help with efficiency, but it doesn’t change the fact that the task’s impact is low relative to the effort. The best move is to allocate effort to high-impact work and use delegation or deferral for low-impact tasks.