Quick take on "priorities"

A plural I struggle with in the corporate world.

We rarely realize the logic, or lack of logic, behind the terms we use. Especially with all the buzzwords within the corporate world. And “priorities” is one of the buzzwords.

Why do we prioritize in the first place? To direct our full attention and get the most important thing done. So why do we create “priorities” (plural) instead and hence divide our attention? Despite what various gurus tell you, the human brain is not designed to handle more than one task at a time. "Multitasking means trying to perform two or more tasks concurrently, which typically leads to repeatedly switching between tasks (i.e., task switching) or leaving one task unfinished in order to do another" (source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7075496/ ). And yet we are still trying every day, sometimes unconsciously.?

Try to key in “priorities” in Google Books, you will get more than 39 mln results.

And yet, that term has a plural form only the last c. 100 years. It got introduced into the English language around 1400 AD. For a couple of hundred years remained in a singular form ONLY.

“Priority” means “the most important”, or “taking precedence”. Then how the hell various Time Management or Project Management content talks about “priorities” (plural)? And why do we talk about “priorities” (myself included, unfortunately)?

Suppose to some extent we started using "priority" as a synonym for "task". Yet task ≠ priority. One will perform many tasks during the day, but only some will contribute to a priority. Hence my "list of priorities" for today is my "list of tasks".?

For people familiar with LOTR - the One Ring is “one” for a reason.

So no more “defining priorities” or “which priority I need to focus on this week”. It's not easy to choose THE most important thing from many very important things. But if one wants to focus and deliver, best not to dilute attention.