Make Time for What's Important
Sep 09, 2022
Knowing the difference between what's important to you and what's urgent is helpful information for increased productivity and personal growth.
Here is a breakdown of the Eisenhower Matrix explained in Steven Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People:
Important to me & Urgent - Putting out fires, deadline-driven projects
Too often, we are focused on dealing with urgent stuff like deadlines and putting out fires. Though these tasks are a necessary part of our schedule, they can sometimes take over our entire day. A simple trick for handling urgent tasks more efficiently is to schedule time for them. When these urgent tasks are important, like meeting a deadline, schedule time in your calendar to put your full focus and attention on them. If the tasks are too big to schedule in 1 time slot, break them down into easier tasks. Click Here to learn how
Not Important to me & Urgent - Some calls, emails, and meetings
When these urgent tasks are not important like making phone calls and checking emails, try to consolidate the time you spend on them every day. For example, schedule a check-in 1 or 2 times a day to check voicemails and emails. This reduces distractions that have been interrupting your focus and attention time when dealing with important and urgent tasks. If the task is something you can delegate, do it and reclaim your time.
Not Important to me & Not Urgent - Excessively & mindlessly scrolling through social media
By scheduling time for urgent things, we are minimizing daily distractions that lead to the overwhelm and chaos that cause burnout. When we are in a state of overwhelm, we tend to fall back on the not important and not urgent things like scrolling through social media, because our brains need to shut off. We all need to decompress, but if you find you're wasting too much time and not getting your important things done, this could be a sign that you need more balance.
Important to me & Not Urgent - Personal & professional development
The important and not urgent tasks are crucial for our self-care, personal growth, or business development. Unfortunately, these are most often neglected when we are consumed with deadlines, checking emails, or aimlessly scrolling through social media. By using the techniques mentioned above, you now have time and energy to focus on improving your overall well-being.
I hope these strategies help give you balance in your day so you can create more time for what's important to you.
Below is a visual that explains The Eisenhower Matrix:
