A simple research was done with a few people in an age group of 20-24. They were asked to do some simple everyday tasks and the time of completion of the tasks was recorded! Again they were asked to repeat the same task, but this time where was a note! The note reads as, “Repeat the same tasks as if you’re giving your 100 percent. Perform the task as if, after doing them you don’t have any regret of who comes first, second or third.” The tasks that were performed later where completed almost 4 times faster than the earlier recorded time. Indeed what we can do in 16 years will take only 4 years and less if we do will 100 percent will power and mentality. Give this a thought! Your success depends on the very way you manage your time and the quality effort you put in. Isn’t it?
The Time Management Secret which My Teacher Shared with Me
Today, I am going to share with you, a very important time management tip which I learnt from my teacher. It is so powerful, that if you master it perfectly, you can always be ahead of time and get all your work completed.
In this image below, there are four quadrants with the alphabets U and I in each. U stands for urgent and I stands for Important. All out works can be typically classified into urgent and important and not urgent and not important.
U – All your urgent work like going to the toilet, pay bills on the last date,
I – All your important work like eating healthy, studying, doing exercise, giving time in relationships etc
Firstly, you need to understand the differences, there are works which are only urgent, some are only important while rest are both important and urgent! Sort some of your common works as U and I and then proceed!
All those works which are neither urgent nor important are assigned to the forth quadrant. That’s why you’re seeing a slanted strike-through across the U and I.
Indeed, in life, we somehow get time to do work which are neither urgent not important. Watching movies, chit-chat, quarreling, etc. We always have time for this type of work because it comes naturally to us.
The third quadrant is a representation of the work which is Urgent but not Important. Peeing is perhaps the best example. There is always time for these type of works too!
Now when we come to the second quadrant, we are left with those works which are both urgent and important! A sleep is needed when you’re very tired. It’s both urgent and important. Preparing yourself for an interview or last minute study!
Again we manage time to do these type of works! Because, we can’t really fail here or we lose lot of our happiness! Pressure doubles here, the work is urgent and important! It needs to be done and we do it!
This finally brings us to the first quadrant! Here, those works are listed which are important but not urgent! Since, they are not urgent….
Do we really focus on works that are important but not urgent?
The answer is a NO for most of you!
We know, there is time and we’ll do it in future. It is this work which keeps on piling up! Because, we don’t really work to empty this. Now, when this gets totally filled, the valve connecting the 1st and the 2nd quadrant opens and the work gets transferred to the second quadrant! I.e. it turns to both Urgent and Important.
Basically this means, important works, if left undone becomes urgent+ important! So, the number of urgent and important work increases and you’re literally double pressurized and this make you say, I am exhausted, I don’t have time………and so on! This is simply what is happening to all of us! The simple and easy solution to get rid of this is to take this first quadrant work seriously and ensure its completed on time. Doing this, would really end your worries about time management. You will have time to do all other types of work which includes relaxing, and you can do it without a worry next time.
