Definition
Task separation is the Adlerian discipline of asking, for any given concern, whose task this ultimately is. The test is simple: whoever bears the final consequences of a choice owns that task. If you bear them, it is yours; if another person bears them, it is theirs.
The practice does not mean indifference. It means refusing to intrude on tasks that belong to others and refusing to let others intrude on yours. Many interpersonal conflicts, in this framework, are really disputes over a boundary that was never drawn.
Why it matters
How it works
In practice, task separation runs through three steps. First, identify the consequence-bearer of a situation. Second, focus your energy entirely on your own task and execute it well. Third, let others handle theirs, even if you would have chosen differently for them.
Whether another person likes you, for example, is their task, not yours. Your task is to act with integrity. Drawing that line is uncomfortable at first because it withdraws you from familiar patterns of approval-seeking and meddling, but it is what makes a self-directed life sustainable.