Choosing to take control of what matters most in life and work.
250 words/min = 3.5 min read
Back in college, I had the opportunity to lead a service organization. My predecessor knew I would have a hectic year balancing school, work, and my new role. He pulled me aside after lunch one day and gave me some helpful advice. He said a friend had pulled him aside before he started and told him to block out time in his schedule for studying before the semester even started. He said to take out your “Palm Pilot” (soooo dating myself) and make sure that you protect your study time.
At the time, it seemed like very insignificant advice. I almost brushed it off. It was the first time I was confronted with the problem of urgency and the pressure it creates in responsible people. The urgency created from noble requests that may or may not have been necessary. I had not yet learned Steven Covey’s 4 Quadrants model of prioritizing activities in life. I soon learned that my friend’s advice was critical for me to survive the school year while serving others.
Being responsible and responsive is a powerful combination that is needed in leadership. However, they are dangerous when we begin leading a team, company, or organization and do not have boundaries. I know what you are thinking, “You have to be responsible to lead a team!” True, but without boundaries, responsibility can lead leaders to burnout or lower productivity. URGENCY immediately starts growing in the daily fires and problems of life, and team members, clients, bosses, or family start calling for help! If you are responsible, the only option is to save the day. Right? I quickly learned that I could be a part of meetings, service activities, events, or respond to URGENT requests from sun up to sun down and still have work to do.
My studies, however, were much different. I never received an urgent call from my textbook, begging me to spend more time in it. Professors did not track me down on campus to make sure I wasn’t procrastinating on an assignment. Yet, learning was one of the main reasons I went to college! Steven Covey would say these activities are NOT URGENT but IMPORTANT. They fall in Quadrant 2.
When we lead a team, a business, or our family, let’s not measure our success by all the fires we were able to effectively put out during the day. We measure our success by how many IMPORTANT but not URGENT activities were left undone. To cultivate our physical health, personal relationships, financial wellness, and personal growth, we have to be proactive.
So what if we haven’t spent much time focusing on Quadrant 2? What if we have been superheroes of the URGENT and UNIMPORTANT? Here are some ways we can make sure that we spend time cultivating our most important priorities every day:
Take control of your schedule and pre-block time for important things. Back in school, it was time for studying, but we may block things like spending time with our spouse, workouts, and time to read and reflect. Be proactive with time. If you are not a planner, don’t try and plan every second of every day. Just schedule the most important activities of the week.
Work to add more “NOT URGENT but IMPORTANT” activities to your daily routine. I suffered from back pain from an old injury for years. It wasn’t until I included a 20 min stretch in my morning routine that I was able to eliminate my chronic back issues. We are what we routinely do. So make sure your routines include things that fall in the NOT URGENT but IMPORTANT Quadrant.
Leverage the power of accountability to boost your motivation to stick with it. Sometimes we don’t want to do things we know are good for us because… well, we don’t like doing them! If you would rather drink a raw egg for breakfast then workout, then it is safe to say you will need some extra motivation! Any task we need to accomplish but prefer to put off needs the light of accountability. Reading groups, church small groups, your spouse, manager, friends, or team members are excellent sources of accountability. Give others permission to help you live a more fulfilled life.
One thing is certain, I benefited a great deal from my friend’s advice and had I not blocked out time in my Palm Pilot calendar each week, I would not have studied enough to make it through my classes that year. Responsibility is required for leadership and should be greatly respected. URGENCY should be seen as a potentially dangerous distraction from what is most important. The real trick of leadership is knowing how to assume responsibility for more than what is urgent in the moment. Can you list 3 NOT URGENT but IMPORTANT things that need to be locked on your schedule next week?
If you have been struggling with balancing priorities or going through a transition in your personal life or business check out MOVE!
~ Dallas
Choosing to take control of what matters most in life and work.
250 words/min = 3.5 min read
Back in college, I had the opportunity to lead a service organization. My predecessor knew I would have a hectic year balancing school, work, and my new role. He pulled me aside after lunch one day and gave me some helpful advice. He said a friend had pulled him aside before he started and told him to block out time in his schedule for studying before the semester even started. He said to take out your “Palm Pilot” (soooo dating myself) and make sure that you protect your study time.
At the time, it seemed like very insignificant advice. I almost brushed it off. It was the first time I was confronted with the problem of urgency and the pressure it creates in responsible people. The urgency created from noble requests that may or may not have been necessary. I had not yet learned Steven Covey’s 4 Quadrants model of prioritizing activities in life. I soon learned that my friend’s advice was critical for me to survive the school year while serving others.
Being responsible and responsive is a powerful combination that is needed in leadership. However, they are dangerous when we begin leading a team, company, or organization and do not have boundaries. I know what you are thinking, “You have to be responsible to lead a team!” True, but without boundaries, responsibility can lead leaders to burnout or lower productivity. URGENCY immediately starts growing in the daily fires and problems of life, and team members, clients, bosses, or family start calling for help! If you are responsible, the only option is to save the day. Right? I quickly learned that I could be a part of meetings, service activities, events, or respond to URGENT requests from sun up to sun down and still have work to do.
My studies, however, were much different. I never received an urgent call from my textbook, begging me to spend more time in it. Professors did not track me down on campus to make sure I wasn’t procrastinating on an assignment. Yet, learning was one of the main reasons I went to college! Steven Covey would say these activities are NOT URGENT but IMPORTANT. They fall in Quadrant 2.
When we lead a team, a business, or our family, let’s not measure our success by all the fires we were able to effectively put out during the day. We measure our success by how many IMPORTANT but not URGENT activities were left undone. To cultivate our physical health, personal relationships, financial wellness, and personal growth, we have to be proactive.
So what if we haven’t spent much time focusing on Quadrant 2? What if we have been superheroes of the URGENT and UNIMPORTANT? Here are some ways we can make sure that we spend time cultivating our most important priorities every day:
Take control of your schedule and pre-block time for important things. Back in school, it was time for studying, but we may block things like spending time with our spouse, workouts, and time to read and reflect. Be proactive with time. If you are not a planner, don’t try and plan every second of every day. Just schedule the most important activities of the week.
Work to add more “NOT URGENT but IMPORTANT” activities to your daily routine. I suffered from back pain from an old injury for years. It wasn’t until I included a 20 min stretch in my morning routine that I was able to eliminate my chronic back issues. We are what we routinely do. So make sure your routines include things that fall in the NOT URGENT but IMPORTANT Quadrant.
Leverage the power of accountability to boost your motivation to stick with it. Sometimes we don’t want to do things we know are good for us because… well, we don’t like doing them! If you would rather drink a raw egg for breakfast then workout, then it is safe to say you will need some extra motivation! Any task we need to accomplish but prefer to put off needs the light of accountability. Reading groups, church small groups, your spouse, manager, friends, or team members are excellent sources of accountability. Give others permission to help you live a more fulfilled life.
One thing is certain, I benefited a great deal from my friend’s advice and had I not blocked out time in my Palm Pilot calendar each week, I would not have studied enough to make it through my classes that year. Responsibility is required for leadership and should be greatly respected. URGENCY should be seen as a potentially dangerous distraction from what is most important. The real trick of leadership is knowing how to assume responsibility for more than what is urgent in the moment. Can you list 3 NOT URGENT but IMPORTANT things that need to be locked on your schedule next week?
If you have been struggling with balancing priorities or going through a transition in your personal life or business check out MOVE!
~ Dallas
