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Capturing That Illusive Thing Called Time Self Help Articles | June 23 Rollie Fingers Jersey , 2002
... THAT ILLUSIVE THING CALLED TIME"The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing." - -Stephen Covey So often I hear people say, "I can't afford to take time out of my busy schedule to

CAPTURING THAT ILLUSIVE THING CALLED TIME

"The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing."
- -Stephen Covey

So often I hear people say, "I can't afford to take time out of my busy schedule to plan!" To that I respond by saying Dave Winfield Jersey , "If you are that tight on time, then you can't afford NOT to take time out to plan." I'll illustrate my point with a real-life example.

Over the past year I have worked with two very bright and capable women who have a lot in common. I'll call them Carol and Marilyn (not their real names). Both are professionals working in similar fields. Both supervise a large team of employees. Both are married to spouses who also work outside the home. Both are mothers of school-age kids. Both are about the same age. Both struggle with managing the volume of paper and electronic information they receive daily. Looking at these women from the outside, they appear to have a lot in common.

And they are very different. Carol and Marilyn independently hired me to help them get organized. Before teaching them a process I use to manage paper and de-clutter their offices (visit http:www.orgcoach.net rimthefat) Tony Gwynn Jersey , I spent some time talking with them about their priorities. Why? Because organizing one's physical environment without first clarifying priorities is like rearranging deck chairs on The Titanic!

Although I am devoting the majority of this article to a discussion about time management, I want to first point out the difference between management and leadership. Management works within the system. Leadership works on the system. Stephen Covey reminds us that "fundamental to putting first things first in our lives is leadership before management." It becomes critical to ask yourself, "Am I doing the right things?" before "Am I doing things right?"

Once you are clear about your priorities (doing the right things) San Diego Padres Jersey , planning and organizing around those priorities is essential. This is because we are a society that is urgency addicted. We tend to focus on that which is urgent -- whether the activity is important or not. Stephen Covey sums up the problem very well: "It's important to realize that urgency itself is not the problem. The problem is that when urgency is the dominant factor in our lives, importance isn't. What we regard as "first things" are urgent things. We're so caught up in doing, we don't even stop to ask if what we're doing really needs to be done."

If you struggle with a strong urgency mindset Melky Cabrera Jersey , read on. I guarantee that you will feel more satisfied and fulfilled when you take steps to focus your time and energy on what's most important and avoid those activities that are less important or not important to you.

TIME MANAGEMENT MATRIX

"What does it matter how much we do if what we're doing isn't what matters most?"
=-Stephen Covey, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

In his book First Things First, Stephen Covey offers a wonderful tool for analyzing how you spend your time -- the Time Management Matrix. Covey has broken time into four quadrants:

Quadrant I: Quadrant of Necessity

This quadrant represents activities that are necessary for you to focus on Chris Archer Jersey , because they are urgent (time-sensitive) AND important to you. These are some of the kinds of activities that fall into Q-I:
* Pressing problems crisis
* Deadline-driven projects
* Last-minute preparations for scheduled activities

We tend to focus on Q-I activities because they are urgent and the need to do these activities makes itself known to us. These activities are hard to ignore because our life experiences have taught us that when we ignore Q-I activities, we get into trouble.

Quadrant II: Quadrant of Quality & Personal Leadership

This quadrant represents activities that are important, but because they are not urgent Jung-ho Kang Jersey , they are easy to put on the back burner for "when I have more time." In order to focus on these activities, one must be proactive. Here are examples of activities that fall into Q-II:
* Preparationplanning
* Prevention
* Values clarification
* Exercise
* Relationship-building
* True recreationrelaxation

The more time we spend in Q-II, the more quality we add to our lives. If we neglect Q-II activities long enough Starling Marte Jersey , sometimes they become Q-I activities (urgent and important). For example, exercise is generally considered a Q-II activity because there is no deadline by which you must exercise. However, if you neglect exercise long enough -- "I'll do it when I have more time" - it may become a Q-I (urgent) activity when your health care provider tells you that you will face major health problems if you don't start exercising regularly.

Unfortunately Kent Tekulve Jersey , "more time" never comes. We all get 168 hours a week. Check out my 168 Hour Exercise at http:www.orgcoach.netpdf168hour.pdf for a good time analysis tool.

Effectively translating these high-leverage Quadrant II goals into action requires a framework for effective decision-making about how you spend your time. Most people struggle to find time for the important but not urgent activities in their already-overflowing schedules. Covey reminds us that "the key is not to prioritize your schedule, but to schedule your priorities."

Quadrant III: Quadrant of Deception

This quadrant represents activities that are not important and urgent (time-sensitive). Q-III is known as the Quadrant of Deception, because we get deceived into believing that these activities are important because they are