Urgency - Importance

Organizing our efforsts for optimum efficiency and results can be done in many ways. One simple and effective tool I use is the "Four Quadrant Matrix." For a visual understanding, it comprises a box split into four quarters labeled important or not important across the top and urgent or not urgent along the side. Important and urgent items are such things a fire, a workplace power outage, or an immediate and significant opportunity, things that shouldn't wait. Urgent but not important items include certain phone calls, distractions, and interruptions that are best dealt with immediately even though they are not very important. Items that aren't urgent or important are "time sucks" like mindless reading, TV shows, conversations, and web surfing that waste time with little or no value or results. Non urgent but important things are like buried gold, they can take time and effort to uncover but the results can be very valuable. Suppose your child plays a team sport at school but the season is long so there are lots of opportunities to see games (non urgent) so you miss a bunch of them. Then your company gets a big contract and you are pressured to work a lot of overtime making it very difficult to attend - now a big problem! Suppose you started out thinking how important this was from the beginning so volunteered to help out and made every game early on. Even if your kid went on to win the championships and you couldn't make a single game from there on you might still feel a part of it and proud of yourself and your child. This is the "compass," not the clock. What is the purpose of your life and where do you find value and meaning? Those things can pass by with little notice unless you take the time to set your compass and follow it. Check out the next post on priorities.