The power of important and not yet urgent

There is a place which is powerful and focused — at the intersection of important and not yet urgent. Here’s how to get there.

It’s at this intersection.

Sometimes called the Eisenhower grid, it was picked up and made popular by Stephen Covey in his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. In that grid, there are four “quadrants.” Of those four quadrants, the place you want to spend the majority of your time (if you want the power and focus without all the stress and anxiety) is in Quadrant 2 (Which I call Q2). It is at the intersection of important but not yet urgent.

What do you do there?

You may have noticed that in Q2 you do things like relationship building, planning, and recognizing new opportunities, whereas in the the other quadrants you are spinning your wheels on things like crises and wasting time.

And here’s the thing.

It will take some time and discipline to switch over to Q2. But if you will begin by adding in one or two Q2 items each day, you will soon see the benefit of this quadrant. Instead of being stressed and anxious, you will have front-loaded your day, your week — your life, really — with those things that are important but not yet urgent.

Where will you vacation?

Notice also that in Quadrant 2 there is time for a break; for vacation. This is because if you will do the work of Q2, you will find that you have better perspective — so you won’t have to babysit those you are leading (including yourself) so much. Which means that you’ll have more time to look ahead, get a good deal on your investments and book the low-priced airfare to that vacation spot (even if it’s local) more refreshed.

Give it a try.

Sounds pretty good, right? I hope you’ll give it a try. And if you’d like to learn more about how to get the power of Q2 into your life, feel free to be in touch with me. 

Key point:

There is power and focus in Q2, where you accomplish what is important, but not yet urgent — with more time for vacation.

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I can help you get more power and focus in your specific situation.