Time Management
Chapter 09. Staying on track
“Everyone’s dream can come true
if you just stick to it and work hard.” — Serena Williams
“What is the best use of my time right now?”
Since this is the most important question in the field of time management,
keep asking it until it automatically becomes your guide
and motivates you to focus on a valuable task
or activity with the highest value.
As you organize your time
and tasks around the answer
to this question,
you’ll be amazed at how quickly you can improve your efficiency.
From time to time I ask my audience,
“What is your most valuable financial asset?”
After they thought it over and came up with a few answers,
I pointed out that
the real answer was “your earning potential.”
Your earning potential represents 80% to 90%
of your financial value at work.
Think of yourself as a “money machine”.
Everything that you do has some value whether high or low.
Your job is to focus on how to use your time most valuable
and train yourself to be able to consistently work
on the few activities
that make the greatest contribution to your job and company.
There’s nothing better than achieving your goals,
whatever they might be. — Paloma Faith
***********************
A principle of life
This choice of the most valuable use of your time applies
to every aspect of your life.
There are times when the most productive use of your time,
especially when you’ve worked so hard,
is to go home,
go to bed early,
and get a good night’s sleep.
Sometimes the most effective use of your time
is to meet the most important people in your life.
Sometimes the most effective use of your time
is to take good care of your health
by eating the right foods,
making time for regular exercise,
and getting proper rest to get the most out
of it with the highest capacity.
Sometimes the most valuable use of your time
is with your family or reading a good book
instead of watching TV.
At other times,
the most valuable use of your time is to socialize
and meet the loved ones
and friends you want to be
with so you can relax and de-stress.
The most important thing is
that you should always ask yourself the question:
“What is the most valuable use of my time at this time?”
Then train yourself to start and finish the activity.
When you apply this suggestion to your day
and time management skills,
you’ll become one of the most effective time managers
of your generation.
***********************
Important or Urgent?
There are four types of tasks that you face every day.
The ability to organize these tasks into the right groups
can help you increase your productivity dramatically.
Each task can be placed in its own box or quadrant.
***********************
Quadrant 1: urgent and important
An important mission is one
that has a long-term impact on your career.
An urgent task is one that cannot be put off.
A task that is both important
and urgent is a very urgent task for you.
It is largely determined
by the external requirements of your time,
by the tasks and responsibilities that you must begin
and complete
in order to stay in control of your work.
There are people you have to meet,
things you have to do and places you have to go.
There are clients to meet,
tasks to be completed,
and activities that others assume you must perform.
Most people spend most of their day on tasks
that are both important and urgent.
Your most important tasks and biggest priorities
are both urgent and important.
This is called the “immediate quadrant”.
***********************
Quadrant 2: important, but not urgent
The second type of tasks are those that are important
but not urgent.
They can be delayed at least in the short term.
An example of an important
but not urgent task is an important report that you must write,
approve,
and submit by the end of the month.
Or a university research paper.
This is critical to your grade at the end of the semester,
but it can also be delayed by weeks or months
– a common occurrence.
Most research assignments are written the night
before the submission deadline.
What was once important
but not urgent suddenly became extremely urgent.
Throughout your life,
you are surrounded
by important but not urgent tasks.
Reading important books in your field,
taking additional courses,
and upgrading your skills
and qualifications are all important
to your success in the long run,
but they are not imperatives.
So delay them.
Most people who fail
or perform poorly at work have put off upgrading their skills
and abilities for so long
that they are looked down upon or overtaken
by more determined
and determined people,
one who wishes to achieve greater achievement
and responsibility.
Even something as simple as exercise
is important to your health,
but not urgent.
You can delay them for a long time like most people.
Doctors say 85% of the major health problems people experience
as they age can be avoided
if they adopt sound health habits into adulthood,
including diet and exercise.
These tasks fall into the “efficiency quadrant”.
***********************
Quadrant 3: Urgent, but not important
There are people who walk into your office,
call, text or email you,
but your response to these agents is of little value
to the company
or your job.
These are urgent but unimportant tasks.
These tasks belong to a group commonly referred to
as the “quadrant of deception”.
People think that
because they do these activities
during the day they must have some value,
but they are just letting themselves get into things
that are not important to their career.
Many people spend up to half of their time on urgent
but not important things.
They are fun, easy,
and enjoyable things that don’t produce results at work.
Most of these activities are gossip with colleagues,
low-value or worthless activities.
***********************
Quadrant 4: not urgent and not important
The fourth type of activities
that people perform at work are tasks
that are neither urgent nor important.
These activities belong to the “waste quadrant”.
Many people engage in activities
that are of no value to themselves or the company.
Reading junk emails or sports news,
going shopping during the day,
or driving around between appointments
while listening to the radio are all examples of activities
that are neither urgent nor important.
They are a complete waste of time
and do not contribute anything to your life.
***********************
Build good habits at work
The great tragedy is that
when you do something over and over again,
you quickly form a habit.
And once formed,
these habits are very difficult to break.
Many people have gotten into the habit of spending most
of their time on low-value
or worthless activities and then are surprised
when they get laid off or miss out on promotion opportunities.
The key to effective time management is to set priorities
and always deal with things
that are both urgent and important,
that is, the most urgent and important tasks.
Once you have completed the tasks
that are both urgent and important,
immediately move on to the tasks that are important
but not urgent at the moment.
Tasks that are important but not urgent are often tasks
and activities that can help your career in the long run.
“Set your goals high,
and don’t stop till you get there.” – Bo Jackson
