A method and transaction processing system for managing transaction processing tasks are provided. The transaction processing system comprises a transaction log, a log management policy, a log manager and a dispatcher. The method comprises maintaining a transaction log of recoverable changes made by transaction processing tasks and storing a log management policy including at least one log threshold. Usage of the log by transaction processing tasks is then monitored to determine when a log threshold is reached. When a log threshold is reached the active task having the oldest log entry of all active tasks is identified and its dispatching priority is increased. This increases the likelihood that the identified task will be dispatched, and should mean that the task will more quickly reach normal completion.