Described are embodiments of an invention for prioritizing data items for backup in a computing environment. The computing environment includes a plurality of clients coupled through a network to a backup system for backing up items stored locally on the client. Each client includes a continuous data protection (CDP) module that prioritizes the order of files transmitted to the backup system for storage on one or more storage devices based on policy. The CDP module builds an initial backup list and a CDP backup list. The initial backup list includes any item that meets the criteria of the initial backup profile. The CDP backup list includes items that have been modified since the initial backup process began. The data that is the most critical to a user is often the most recently modified data. Thus, the CDP module preferentially performs a backup of items on the CDP backup list.