Importance vs. urgency
March 25, 2008 · Chris Peters
I have a major time management problem, and I often have problems prioritizing what needs to get done next. I know I'm not alone, so I hope that this helps you as much as it helped me.
A friend of mine always forwards me cheesy self-improvement newsletters. I always read them because every now and then there are great little nuggets of wisdom.
A few days ago, I came across this one from Jeffery Combs about the role of importance versus the role of urgency.
Combs writes the following:
Every day we have situations that arise—situations happen, and we have things to do. Some are urgent and some are important, some are both, and some are neither. We have to understand that urgent situations are seldom important and important situations are seldom urgent. Most people spend 80% of their lives responding to the urgent as if everything that is urgent is important. You have to learn to separate the two. It is important that you take the proper action with a sense of urgency but not with a panicked or fear-stricken mindset. For instance, closing a sale or enrolling a client to use your product is urgent, but developing a flourishing organization is more important. Having a new car and wardrobe is urgent for a lot of people, but saving, investing, and developing a prosperity consciousness is much more important to becoming financially independent.
I have a major time management problem, and I often have problems prioritizing what needs to get done next. I know I’m not alone, so I hope that this helps you as much as it helped me.
