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The Spanish have their siesta, kids like to talk about “chilling”, and Steven Covey talks about the concept of “sharpening the saw”.  All three address the same issue:  taking a little bit of time to focus on renewing yourself.  Failure to do so is where neglect comes in to play.

Covey’s probably got the best framework to address this topic.  He focuses on two dimensions:  urgency and importance.  Together they make up a coding system for all of our activities:

  • High urgency + high importance – The fires you face on a daily basis
  • High urgency + low importance – The illusion of achievement / the doing to be doing something where it really doesn’t matter
  • Low urgency + low importance – The why are you even considering this tasks
  • Low urgency + high importance – The tasks that will build the foundation to success

The low urgency + high importance is what Covey refers to as “quadrant 2”.  His hypothesis — which I have tested and verified! — is that if you focus on the quadrant 2 tasks/activities you will get more done in an easier manner.  Unfortunately, most individuals neglect to heed Covey’s guidance; and, accordingly, are caught in a viscous cycle of daily fire fighting.  You can not break this cycle until you step back, prioritize what’s important, and spend the time working on those key items that will allow you to reach your long term goals.

With that in mind:

As you look at today’s tasks, will you choose fire fighting or focus on sharpening the saw?

As always, thanks for the time.

(Credit to Sandra Ford Walston  for motivating this post)