Philosophy question: Given two tasks, one difficult and one easy, which do you do first?

[AndrewR]

No idea why I thought of this a little while ago, but I wanted to see what the opinions were on here.

So, if you have two tasks or jobs (unrelated to each other so it doesn't matter what order they are done), which do you do first: the difficult one, or the easy one? Do you go for the quick "win" and knock out the easy one, or do you use your best (first) efforts on the difficult task and leave the easy one for later?

A poll for your enjoyment!

 

[cherrytwist]

Difficult first. Slackers.

 

[Spooner]

Easy stuff first to get things actually accomplished while leaving the harder one second

 

[ATLien247]

Easy one first, so you have enough time for the hard one. If you did the hard one first, you might never get around to the easy one.

 

[jmdeathsquad]

easy first, you'll be more motivated to finish the second task if you already have one out of the way...

 

[DaShen]

Depends... which one is more crucial/important?

 

[Specop 007]

I start on the difficult one until I hit a brick wall then switch over to the easy task to give me a break from the hard task.

 

[Lola]

I chose the most difficult first, i know that once i have accomplished that, i will have the easier to to do after.
I would rather get the worse one out of the way and done with before the easier one.

 

[theknight571]

Originally posted by: Spooner
Easy stuff first to get things actually accomplished while leaving the harder one second

I agree, in general.

I suppose there might be some cases though, where I would do the difficult one first.

 

[Descartes]

You haven't provided enough information. First, you'd have to quantify difficult. Difficult how? In terms of time? Physical/mental exertion? Monetary resources? What's the value for each task? Obviously, that which has the greatest value for the least effort is likely the winner, but even that doesn't consider all the ancillary details: time constraints, whether it's part of a greater goal that has a greater value than the other tasks, etc.

So, I think it's a bad question. Personally, I evaluate all facets of an action and take that which gives me the greater return [mostly] independent of effort. That which has the greatest return is usually that which is in agreement with long-term goals and that which challenges my current intellectual foundation as much as possible.

 

[theeedude]

Easy first. It's like foreplay. I like to enjoy the climax of completing a hard task without having easy task left to do

 

[vi edit]

Taken simply for face value, I do the easy one first. I don't waste a lot of energy and can quickly cut the "to do" list in half.

Then I can concentrate all efforts on the biggie.

 

[nageov3t]

whichever will be quicker gets done first, just to get it knocked out as soon as possible... there are difficult tasks that don't have a great deal of time investment, and then easy tasks that involve hours of just doing something completely mindless (making/running a crapload of ethernet cables, for example).

 

[Cristatus]

Easy first, just because it's quicker to finish.

 

[dullard]

Assuming they are otherwise equal, I'd do the quick easy one first.

Suppose you had limited time (like on an exam) and you had two questions of importance, equal weight on the exam, and everything is equal but one was fast/easy and the other slow/difficult. If you tackle the slow/difficult one and finish half, you get ~25% on the test (0% for not answering the easy one, and 25% for half of the hard one). Now suppose you did the fast/easy one first, then you'd get a ~75% on that test (50% for correctly answering the easy one and 25% for half of the hard one).

Clearly, if I had to choose a miserable failure vs. a C grade, I'd choose the C grade. Thus fast/easy first for me.

 

[Corporate Thug]

this is like a strategy for any standardized test - always do the easy problems first.

 

[kt]

Easy.

 

[funboy6942]

You always do the hard job first, then go ****** off on the easy one for the rest of the day. Who in the right mind would do it the other way around so you bust your ass 10x harder because you did the hard one last and its almost time to leave the hell hole and go booze it up?

Thoes are lazy ass slacker procrastonators that dont understand they are making more work for themselves in the long run, and putting yourself also in a bad mood for the end of the day because you forced yourself to rush and make misstakes. Well I guess you cant really call them lazy ass slacker procrastonators then could you because they are working harder? Just stupid then, not knowing how to really be a lazy ass slacker procrastonator by doing the hard job first, then slacking on the easy one milking it till the clock ends.

 

[Darthvoy]

i'll do the easy one first and then go to sleep

 

[Epic Fail]

skip both

 

[Demon-Xanth]

I do the easy one that way I'm not thinking about it while I do the difficult one.

 

[vi edit]

Originally posted by: funboy42
You always do the hard job first, then go ****** off on the easy one for the rest of the day. Who in the right mind would do it the other way around so you bust your ass 10x harder because you did the hard one last and its almost time to leave the hell hole and go booze it up?

Thoes are lazy ass slacker procrastonators that dont understand they are making more work for themselves in the long run, and putting yourself also in a bad mood for the end of the day because you forced yourself to rush and make misstakes. Well I guess you cant really call them lazy ass slacker procrastonators then could you because they are working harder? Just stupid then, not knowing how to really be a lazy ass slacker procrastonator by doing the hard job first, then slacking on the easy one milking it till the clock ends.

You must be a union worker.

 

[DaWhim]

Originally posted by: cherrytwist
Difficult first. Slackers.

slackers will be the ones that do neither.

 

[Jeff7]

Depends which has more value, the estimated time to complete each task, and how much time I have. Assuming equal value, I'd do the easy task first, to assure a better chance of gaining any points. If I start the difficult task first, and devote all time to finishing it, leaving no time for the easy one, and still fail to complete the difficult one, I end up with zero points.

So, my philosophical answer: It depends.

 

[Kelemvor]

I do the easy one first to get it over with and out of the way. Then I can concentrate fully on the difficult task and not have to worry about the other task waiting there in the background.