Wise Quotes 1
How do I prioritize tasks?
What is important is seldom urgent and what is urgent is seldom important.
– Eisenhower
Prioritizing tasks is important to achieving our goals and targets, which is vital to our success. By prioritizing tasks we ensure that we focus our attention to the most important tasks first.
Normally we tend to focus our attention on urgent activities and this uses up most of our time, leaving us with less or absolutely no time to focus on what is really important or what matters to us the most. Focusing our attention on what is really important will help us grow and will accelerate our efforts towards reaching our set goals in life.
How can I accomplish prioritizing tasks?
The Urgent/Important Matrix is a useful tool to help us in prioritizing our tasks.
Stephen Covey the Author of “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” explained this concept in his book and coined it as the Urgent/Important Matrix.
So first let us try to understand what Important and Urgent Activities/Tasks really are.
- Important activities are those activities which have end results and which lead to the achievement of our goals.
- Urgent activities are activities which require our immediate attention.
How it Works
a. The first step is to list all the Tasks that you have to do.
Try to include everything that takes up your time at work, however unimportant.
This could be the items on your To-Do List
b. Next step, on a scale of 1 to 10, assign importance to each of the activities.
This is a measure of how important the activity is in helping you meet your goals and objectives.
c. Once you’ve assigned an importance value to each Task, determine its urgency.
Now, plot each item on the matrix according to the values that you have given it.
The Quadrants of the Matrix Explained.
A. Not Urgent, but Important (Important Goals)
These are the tasks that matter the most, and help you reach your goals. So you must give most of your time and attention to such Tasks in order to reach your goals.
Examples
Relationship Building, Planning, Research, Learning.
How can you maximize this?
Make sure that you have plenty of time to do these tasks properly.
Leave enough time in your schedule to deal with problems you did not anticipate.
B. Urgent and Important (The Critical Tasks)
Urgent and important activities consists of tasks which one did not anticipate and Tasks that were left pending till the last minute, due to procrastination.
Examples
Crisis, Deadlines, Pressing Problems.
How to deal with it?
If you have proper planning and follow a To Do list, you can avoid last minute tasks. Also avoid procrastination; this happens to be the major culprit for tasks landing in this quadrant of the matrix.
Issues and crises, on the other hand, are sometimes unavoidable.
The best way to deal with these types of problems is to schedule some time to handle crisis situations.
C. Urgent and Not Important (Interruptions)
Urgent but not important activities are Tasks that stop you achieving your goals, and prevent you from completing Tasks that move you towards attaining your main goal.
Examples
Interruptions, Meetings without a clear agenda, Phone calls
How to deal with it?
You could list your important tasks that you are currently doing, to the person who interrupts you and you could suggest to delegate the new task to another person.
See if it possible to set that new task to another time.
Another way to avoid Interruptions is to schedule time when you are available and meet people only during this time.
This helps you to focus on your most important tasks without being disturbed.
D. Not Urgent and Not Important (Distractions)
These tasks should be avoided if possible. Some can plainly be ignored.
Others are activities that other people may want you to do, but they do not help you to reach your goals.
Examples
Games, Social Media, Video Sites, Frequently Checking Mails.
How to deal with it?
Say No to such tasks and give a reason for saying No, without appearing to be rude or offensive.
Conclusion
Thus prioritizing tasks is paramount to achieve success in your goals. The Urgent Important Matrix is a useful tool which helps you to prioritize the tasks on hand and reach your goals.
Inspirational Quotes
The Pomodoro Technique
Introduction
The Pomodoro Technique is an effective Time Management technique devised by a young Italian student by the name Francesco Cirillo to help him in his studies. He used a kitchen timer in the shape of a tomato to time his studies, that’s how this technique got its name since Pomodoro stands for Tomato in Italian.
So when he began to study a particular topic he would concentrate on that topic and give his full undivided attention to that topic for a period of 25 minutes, then follow that with a short break of 5 minutes. This short break helped him to refresh and rejuvenate his mind. He resumed another Pomodoro session after the break.
How do I use the Pomodoro Technique ?
In order for you to use this technique, you must choose one specific task you wish to accomplish. Then work for a period of 25 minutes towards achievement of that specific task , making progress. You could time your Pomodoro session using a simple kitchen timer, or a timer on your smart phone.
Once you reach the 25 minutes on the timer or complete one Pomodoro session, you take a break of 5 minutes to relax and refresh your mind. It is important to remember that you may not complete a task during one Pomodoro session, but the important thing is that you make progress towards achieving the task on hand. You can take one or several Pomodoro sessions to complete a particular task.
Tip
Take short breaks of 5 minutes after each Pomodoro session. Remember after every 4 Pomodoro sessions take a longer break, (15–30 minutes).
Why do I work in short bursts of Time?
The brain usually gets tired when you concentrate on a specific task for prolonged periods of time. So if a task is broken down as smaller subtasks this would be beneficial in performing the tasks more efficiently and you would get better results.
What if I am interrupted during a Pomodoro session?
If you are interrupted during a Pomodoro session you need to restart the Pomodoro session again for a period of 25 minutes. The objective is to train your mind to work in bursts of 25 minutes and then relax to recharge your mind.
Resources
Pomodoro Technique Video – by IGNITE
Pomodoro Technique Resources
http://www.pomodorotechnique.com/
Pomodoro Technique Book
http://www.pomodorotechnique.com/book/
Pomodoro Goodies
http://www.pomodorotechnique.com/goodies/
10 Tips to Overcome Procrastination.
“Procrastination makes easy things hard, hard things harder.”
– Mason Cooley
1. Maintain a To Do List
Do not rely on memory to remember things. Put your tasks down on paper or in electronic form. It is very important to Maintain a To Do List as your first step to overcoming procrastination.
2. Find the Why
Ask yourself why are you doing a particular task, or Why is this goal important to you. This will help you to filter out unimportant tasks.
3. Divide and Conquer.
A large goal or a large task may seem intimidating to you and you may get discouraged to take up this task or goal thus procrastinating, the solution is to divide your big task into smaller manageable tasks.
4. Identify your distractions.
Distraction may be Television, Social Media, Long conversations on the Phone and many others, the key is to identify your distraction and try to limit them.
5. Block Time for specific tasks.
Schedule time for your most critical tasks. Also schedule a time for distractions like television, social media, once you have finished your important tasks.
6. Identify the 20% tasks which give you 80% of your results.
You will find that certain tasks are most critical towards meeting your Goal, so you must identify these key tasks.
7. Do whatever it takes to finish the most critical tasks.
Once you have identified the most important tasks you must give whatever it takes to finish those key tasks. Avoid Excuses, think of the benefits you would gain by completing these tasks.
8. Join a support group
Join a support group of like minded people (like a mastermind group or a group of friends with similar goals), who would cheer you along your path to your goal and hold you accountable if you falter.
9. Remind yourself of the consequences.
Ask yourself, what are the consequences of not doing the task.
10. Celebrate your Victories.
Do not forget to reward yourself along the way this motivates you and prepares you to face bigger challenges.
I would like to conclude this post with the quote
“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”
-Lau Tzu
Your tasks may seem very large or intimidating but taking the first step is the most important action towards reaching your goal and overcoming procrastination.
Procrastination
“Procrastination is the bad habit of putting of until the day after tomorrow what should have been done the day before yesterday.”
– Napoleon Hill
In our lives, there are important tasks we love to push over to the next day because they appear to be boring and mundane. When we keep pushing important tasks to the next day or say to ourselves, “I will do it later” recognize that you have been bitten by the procrastination bug, well not literally.
So what is Procrastination?
Procrastination happens when you do something that is more fun and enjoyable or that you are more comfortable at doing instead of doing important tasks that would ultimately lead you to your goals.
When you procrastinate it signals the failure to focus, and when you fail to focus on activities which would lead you to your goal, you often tend to lose sight of your goal, and thus your goals become a distant dream, buried in the unwanted activities which would leave you unproductive and feeling empty.
How do I recognize when I Procrastinate?
To control procrastination you must begin to recognize when you start to procrastinate and be aware of it.
An example of procrastination could be, say if your goal was to be fit and get in shape, then one of your major activities to reach this goal would be to exercise on a daily basis. Exercising daily could be monotonous and boring although a major requirement in order to reach your goal of being fit and getting in shape, so you may tend to instead watch your favorite program on TV, or catch up with your friends on Facebook as these activities are more fun to do. Soon you would be so caught up in these fun activities that you would forget about your exercise routine.
Does this sound familiar?
Well, Procrastination happens because normally as human beings we tend to choose the easier route if we are provided with two options.
So watching TV or browsing the Internet instead of exercising would be an easy and fun option as it requires less effort and we are comfortable with it. Well, this was just an example.
When we get into the habit of procrastination its effects can be very disastrous. Say if you are a professional and if you procrastinate, delaying critical tasks could have an adverse effect on your career and promotions. If you are a student, procrastination would drastically affect your results and grades. If you feel unwell and sick and procrastinate on meeting a doctor or seeking medical help, the consequences could be life threatening. So you see, everyone seems to be affected by procrastination.
“Procrastination is one of the most common and deadliest of diseases and its toll on success and happiness is heavy. “
– Wayne Gretzky
You must try hard to break the habit of procrastination if you need to move ahead in your life and become successful.
In the next post I will give you some Important Tips and Insights on How to Overcome Procrastination in your life.
Tips for Setting Goals
This video gives you insights into setting goals to succeed in life.