It’s the things that are really important, but not urgent or pressing, that give life its deeper meaning. A fresh look at Stephen Covey’s quadrant.
You may have read Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, or you’ve at least heard of it. My first encounter with the text was as I looked in the local library for a cassette to pass the time as I embarked on another 3-hour adventure to serve people court summons. (But, that’s another story for another day.)
What I heard over the next couple hours radically changed the way I think about a lot of things today. It’s the type of book where everything seems like common sense, but you realize you never (until now) thought of it.
I think for me, the most significant habit is the one related to focusing on important but not urgent tasks. Covey instructs his students to break all the activities that make up your day into the following quadrants:
In #1 you have leaky radiators, broken furnaces, and family crises. In #3, you have things that are pressing to someone else – a political message, after-hour phone calls from work, parties for work or acquaintances or other set events that aren’t necessarily critical. In #4 you have social media, entertainment, chit-chat. (Just think, lots of FOMO items in #3 and #4.)
It’s #2 that I want to drill into. The important but not urgent – this includes deep and meaningful reading, continued learning, prayer and meditation, exercise, life or financial planning, and quality time with those closest to you. It’s all so important but because none of these things are time-sensitive, they tend to get pushed aside many days. Ask someone their regrets in life, it will almost invariably be not spending enough time on X. (Where X is something that would fall into #2.)
What if we change the game to make #2 more like #1? What if we set in our minds that time to take our spouse or kids on a date really is urgent? That it can’t be rescheduled? What if time for reading, or for prayer, or for really thinking about our goals in life was the most important thing on the agenda? Block out Outlook and mark do not disturb?
I think it would seriously change the game. We always have to say no to something…do we make sure it’s the right things we’re saying no to?
Everyone has the same number of hours in the day. And yet some people live their lives with direction, confidence, and positive momentum, while others seem to always be playing catch up. My recommendation today is to think of the one or two #2 activities you’ve been neglecting and force them into your schedule!
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Photo: Flickr/davidsilver