Do you wish you had more time to focus on the important things? Or do you find that you are just so busy with every day, small things that it’s hard to plan and prioritise? Or you spending time doing the things you enjoy doing and are comfortable with, leaving no time for the really important things that you might not be 100% comfortable doing just yet? Do you spend your time ‘firefighting’ leaving no time for longer term, big picture dreams and aspirations, strategic goals?
If any of the above sounds like it applies to you do please read on….
These scenarios come up a lot within my coaching conversations and I often use Stephen’s Covey’s Time Management Grid/Matrix as a tool to help my clients.
It is useful to firstly use the grid format to identify where you are spending your time currently and quantifying it.
Ideally you want to be spending a good proportion of your time in Quadrant 2 (Important but not urgent)
Next a shift to focus or prioritising your own QII activities is required. To move towards this quadrant, (and it is a process that takes time, so be patient!!) you must first be clear about what your priorities are, and then you must learn to start saying no to other activities. Once clear on your priorities you need to set aside blocks of time for these things and remember to put them in the diary before it fills up with the smaller, everyday things.
Stephen Covey uses a very powerful rock metaphor to help explain this and can help to shift our mindset around this. Check out this video (it’s a bit dated but still a gem!!)
https://resources.franklincovey.com/the-8th-habit/big-rocks-stephen-r-covey
