doneessential

Doneessential is a term used in productivity and project-management discussions to describe the practice of identifying tasks deemed essential and ensuring they are completed before less critical work. The concept emphasizes prioritization of high-value activities and can be applied across personal, team, and organizational workflows. In some cases, Doneessential is also used as a brand name by small startups or consultants offering tools or services geared toward outcome-focused task management; however, it does not appear as a widely recognized product in major software catalogs as of this writing.

Practices associated with doneessential include defining an essential-task criteria, maintaining a short, focused backlog, time-blocking for critical work, and using progress indicators that track completion of essential tasks. Tools that claim to support a doneessential approach often feature tagging or filtering for essential items, prioritization scoring, and integration with calendars or reminder systems.

Some supporters argue that explicitly prioritizing essential work can reduce scope creep and improve delivery speed. Critics warn that rigid classifications may overlook emergent tasks or dependencies, and that the value of work can shift over time, requiring frequent re-evaluation.

Related topics include task management, prioritization, essentialism, and lean methodology.