Selection of items based on relative importance

Methods and systems for prioritizing items and displaying those items in a single view of a personal information management (PIM) application are disclosed. PIM software can prioritize items for display in the single view based on a comparison of the date of creation of the item versus the amount of time remaining to complete the item. PIM software may also take into account a priority level of the item. As an item has less time remaining as compared to the date of creation, the likelihood the item will be included in the single display increases. Any item whose due date is 'today' may be included in the single view. Items without due dates might not ever appear in the single view. Users can thus get a quick overview of items that need to be taken care of that day, without being inundated with items that can wait until another day.