Observations (1)

First and foremost: write your to do list in terms of completed outcomes.

For example, you currently have this task:

“Tell Alliance and Leicester about your address change”

Actually, the task you want to complete is:

“Have Alliance and Leicester redirect Nan’s statements to your house”

Telling Alliance and Leicester you’ve moved is just one of the tasks necessary for a successful completion of what it is you really want to do (have the mail redirected).

Maybe your lists should look like this:

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(1) Have Alliance and Leicester redirect Nan’s statements to your house

  * Tell Alliance and Leicester about your address change

  * Write fax request and ask Pramila to print it

  * Have Nan sign it

  * Post it

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I like this because it gives you a clear view of what’s involved in completing the task – which helps you plan your day because it tells you what is actually possible in the time available to you. 

I also like it because it gives my blog posts lots of strike-throughs – a sign of productivity, progress and achievement..!

And I think the To Do list should be a rolling one, beginning afresh every Monday. Strike out done tasks as the week progresses and add new tasks as you go along. The following Monday the new list is the old list minus the completed (struck out) tasks.

Q2 activities: in the beginning…

I have written a list of Quadrant 2 activities in my notebook. I discover my Quadrant 2 tasks (Q2 tasks, as I shall refer to them from now on) by answering the following questions:

(i) What tasks are hanging over your head right now that it would be a weight off your mind – a relief – if you were to get them done?

(ii) What tasks could you do today (or this week) that must eventually be done – although you don’t really have to do them right now?

(iii) Looking at your bigger projects what important task requires doing next?

(iv) Which tasks would you need to complete to regard today/this week as a very good day/week?

My answers to these questions produce a list of things to do that, hopefully, will mean I avoid – or minimise – crises, improve the quality of my health and relationships, enhance my personal productivity and generally give me better sense of control and direction in life.

I’ll be using this blog as a means of recording how this all works out…

An explanation of  Quadrants can be found here

The Quadrants – what they are

You spend all your awake time doing something. Even doing nothing is doing something. The somethings that you do can be simply categorised: they are urgent or not urgent and also important or not important. It is the mix of urgency with importance that puts the somethings you do into one of Covey’s quadrants. Here are the quadrants:

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Quadrant 1 – URGENT and IMPORTANT

Time Spent In: Pressing problems, crises, deadline-driven projects

Results in: Stress, burnout, always putting out fires

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Quadrant II – IMPORTANT but NOT URGENT

Time Spent In: Prevention, self-improvement, relationship building, planning, exercise, recreation

Results in: balance, discipline, control, few stresses

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Quadrant III – URGENT but NOT IMPORTANT

Time Spent In: Interruptions, unscheduled phone calls, pressing matters, popular activities

Results in: short-term focus, crisis management, shallow/broken relationships, damaged reputation

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Quadrant IV – NOT IMPORTANT and NOT URGENT

Time Spent In: Distractions, trivia, time wasters, pleasant activities

Results in: Getting fired, total irresponsibility, dependancy on others

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Now, here are the essential points:

Quadrant 2 is where you want to be spending most of your time. Every Quadrant 2 activity you do represents an excellent investment because it’s either an activity that does instant good (a workout, a quality phonecall to a friend, the reading of an especially useful document or report, planning your week, family time, etc) or it’s one that avoids crisis and stress by doing something that’s important or very important well before it actually needs doing (renewing library books a week early, completing your tax return a month before it’s due, preparing the guest room for visitors a week before they come and so on). In other words, it’s doing the important stuff before it becomes urgent.

Quadrant 1 is where you do NOT want to be. Quadrant 2 tasks are characterised by being both important – meaning you have to do them – and urgent – meaning you have to do them now. They are the primary causes of stress. The bigger the task the worse it is for you. Imagine starting your tax return today when it’s due tomorrow. The greater the number of urgent, important tasks you have the worse it is for you too. Several tasks that absolutely have to be done today will add considerable tension to your life.

It is Quadrant  3 and Quadrant 4 activities that are the main causes of you experiencing Quadrant 1 crises and not spending too much time on Quadrant 2 quality tasks.

Quadrant 3 activities will include answering the ever-ringing telephone, reading email as it arrives, doing things other people have asked you to do without consideration of your own priorities.

Quadrant 4 activities are those things you do to escape the pain or frustration of your life – or to bring yourself a quick pleasure fix. Do you make yourself busy by tidying your desk – again? Ever channel-hopped looking for something on tv to watch? Ever searched the fridge for something nice to eat (despite not actually being hungry)?  Ever gone out with a man or woman simply because you wanted to be with someone? This is all Quadrant 4 stuff – distraction, avoidance, doing this so you don’t have to do that.

 If 100% of your activity was Quadrant 2 activity what a wonderful life you would have. If 100% of your activity is Quadrant 1 activity what a short life you would have. The stress will kill you.

This blog is about living a Quadrant 2 life.