Time Management--Urgent vs. Important

But unlike professional jugglers, we rarely succeed. Everyone is so busy these days. Work is performed at a frantic pace and people are in such a hurry. There is an air of impatience and intolerance—a lot of frenetic darting to and fro that is almost out of control. It's very difficult to keep your priorities in line when life is so fast paced.

But the negative consequences of so much activity—stress, damaged or broken relationships, poor health---can wreak more havoc than what we think we will gain.The UrgentI tried for years to use a paper-based time management system with columns similar to this: "Must Do…Need to Do...Like to Do". I'm sure you've used something like this (maybe even now). The problem I encountered was that I never seemed to get around to doing much in the "Like to Do" column, which was very discouraging. The "Must Do and Need to Do" items consumed all of my time.So I switched to a simpler paper-based system with the following columns, "Urgent" and "Important". Now, I was sure to spend my time wisely.

Unfortunately, I found out that the urgent things monopolized my time and pushed the important things to the back-burner.Here are three examples of "The Urgent":

• Pressing or burning imperatives that must be completed immediately.
• Critical or vital tasks that someone else insists be performed without delay.
• Unrelenting and persistent routine demands on your time.

1. Will the activity I am about to participate in make a significant and lasting positive impact on others?
2. Is what I am about to do an unselfish act that will bring happiness or joy to others?
3. Do my actions and activities promote balance in my life or are they all-consuming?

Instead, consider the following:Focus on "The Important"Priority is the key to managing "The Urgent" and focusing on "The Important". Before you leap to complete a task, take a few moments to think about its true priority. Does it need to be done right at this moment, or is there something else on your list that should come first?While others may demand that everything on your To-Do List must be done immediately, you and only you can really determine what should be done first, second, third, etc. (It's not possible to do everything at once; priority must be given to each item).Today, I've taken a dose of my own medicine and committed to focusing on "The Important". So far, I've accomplished at least one thing that will have a significant and positive impact on others—finishing this article..