Driving with the handbrake on!
We’ve spoken about CEO time – how to get it. Now, let’s explore how to use it.
The subtitle for this exercise is “THE TYRANNY OF THE URGENT.”
Suppose, just suppose, you’re not totally busy, all day and at all hours. Suppose you get a dozen things done, have time to catch your breath, and think about how to advance your business. You’re looking at task priorities – in four classifications: Urgent And Important, Urgent And Not Important, Neither Urgent Nor Important, and Important But Not Urgent.
The last one is particularly interesting. The IBNU, Important But Not Urgent, presents itself to us quietly, doesn’t make a lot of fuss, represents a lot of potential income or profit, and goes away as quietly as it came. BTW, this whole concept was invented, or discovered, by Dr. Covey, of “7 Habits of Effective People” fame
So, if you had a little discretionary time, some CEO time, and you divided your remaining tasks into the 4 groups below, which order do you think you’d tackle them in?
Can you guess what the numbers are for: ? !!!
Covey’s explanation: If it’s urgent and important, that’s a no-brainer. But, Not Important is less consequential, perhaps less confronting than Important, so we do the easy stuff, numbers 2 and 3 next, save number 4 for last!
In response to this wisdom, a good friend, Mark Rickard, who runs a list marketing organization, and is concerned about how he spends his time, has customized his desk blotter. He’s divided it into a huge grid of 4 squares. And, as work comes in, he piles each up on the appropriate square. He swears that, this way, he tackles the IBNU’s more often.
Clearly you’re using your time better if you tackle your IBNU’s before you do things which are neither important or urgent.
However you work, have a look at what you’re doing, and what you’re deferring.
Best, cj
