(MC) + MSN : Technique for Timeboxing Priorities

Jude Park
Jude Park
Sep 2, 2018 · 3 min read

Mariah Carey + MSN (the 90's messenger).

Photo by Hans Gustafsson on Unsplash

I learned the following from a Venture for Canada during my 2018 entrepreneurship training in Kingston, Ontario.

After a lecture training on time management, I was left feeling unsatisfied as to what constitutes a “good” time management. It seemed to matter individually for each person, and I expressed my desires for concrete techniques. One of the organizers messaged me on Slack privately after the lecture to share her techniques. She asked me:

“Have you heard about MC + MSN?”

“Mariah Carey plus MSN the messenger?” As a child of the 90’s, and as an insatiable pop culture consumer that was the most natural thing that came to me.

“No honey, it means Mission Critical + Must have, Should Have, Nice to Have”.

Photo by David Travis on Unsplash

For me, the MC + MSN technique is a useful lens that gives clarity to your immediate actions during a chaotic situation. Disorganization and the feeling of overwhelming list of tasks can strike any business or personal moments in our lives. It can be useful to remember this technique for the next emergency:

MC + MSN

Mission Critical: What is most crucially needed in this moment?

Must Have’s: What must be done in order to move forward?

Should Have’s: What should be done in order to improve the situation?

Nice to Have’s: What will be nice to have in the long run?

An example of this technique is action was when I received news of my mother’s stroke. She was in Seoul and I was in Kingston in a lecture hall full of 100 people. I stepped out for the phone call, and when I hung up the phone I went numb.

I organized my thoughts in this extremely stressful situation and realized:

My Mission Critical (MC) in that moment was to remove myself from the lecture hall and be alone so that I could process what to do. I could not hear myself think nor breath nor see, due to the hot, white tears coming over my eyes — I was clearly not in a state to interact with anyone. My Must Have (M) was to purchase a plane ticket to Seoul when I was alone. My Should Have (S) was to go back to my room and pack my things so that I could get to the airport as soon as I could. My Nice to Have (N) was to pack what was necessary for my trip, and also to gain the emotional support necessary to mentally prepare myself for the journey ahead.

Having organized the MC+MSN principal I was able to organize my actions in sequence in order to carry myself forward, rather than becoming immobile. I left the lecture hall, and I found a quiet study room (MC). I opened my laptop and purchased the next ticket out to Seoul (M). I then went back to my room and began packing (S). While I packed my necessities, I called my partner and closest friends who I trusted to have my back and knew how to help me calm down (N).

MC + MSN comes from the MoSCoW Method, which is an agile project delivery method developed by Dai Clegg in Oracle. It helps to categorize which requirements are necessary and rely on each other for it to be accomplished, and evaluates the gains and losses of each feature for business outcome. The MoSCoW technique in business processes helps to tackle the issue of prioritization — when stakeholders pressure for execution and delivery. What are the Must Have’s for this product’s success? Should Have’s? Nice to Have’s?

Simple techniques can actually save your life. In moments of utter disorder — remember Mariah Carey sitting on a computer using MSN to chat with her friends. It might help you out.


MoSCoW Method — by Dai Clegg

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