Importance and urgency

There are two variables for evaluating how effectively we are using our time: importance and urgency.

Some things are important and urgent, and you need to attend to them quickly. If your house is on fire, addressing that problem is priority number.

Some things are urgent but not important. Your phone is ringing or you just had an email that requests information from you. Is it really important? Probably not, it almost never is. But it is here and the demand on you is now so it is urgent.

Some things are neither important nor urgent. This is where most people spend a disproportionately large percentage of their lives. Watching TV and spending time on other things of little consequence.

And then we have a goldmine. The things in life that are important but have no timetable on them. Playing with your kids, going on a date with your spouse, calling an old friend to catch up. This is where we should be spending our time.

Notice the catch? That which is most important in our lives is what is most easily left unscheduled. There is no urgency, no fire, no immediate requirement. So we don’t.

Make sure what is truly most important in your life prevails in the battle for your attention.