Go ahead… think of your busiest day. Look at you go! Crazy busy, aren’t you? Think of all the things you were doing.
Wow! So many, right?
Yet, believe it or not, you were only doing four types of things! Seriously. Four.
All day long even on your busiest day you are only doing four types of things. Just four.
What are the four things? I’m glad you asked!
Every day, all day long, you’re doing things that are:
Really important and really urgent at that moment.- Really important yet not exactly urgent at that moment.
- Not important yet it seemed urgent at that moment.
- Not important and not urgent either.
Let me show you what I mean…
Imagine that your time is divided into four quadrants:
Quadrant 1 Things that are really important and really urgent at that moment.
Quadrant 1 is when you’re in Fire Fighting Mode.
You’re working on: Sudden emergencies, urgent calls, urgent emails, appointments, projects with deadlines, some meetings.
You’re reacting to things that are urgent to someone—and that makes them important to you.
Quadrant 2 Things that are important yet not urgent right then.
Quadrant 2 is when you’re in Quality Time Mode. You’re working on: research and studying—for your own career growth or to nurture a personal interest, relationships—at home, at work, in your community. Effective meetings and collaboration.
Doing preventative tasks and maintenance. For example—getting the oil changed in your car before it becomes a problem.
Personal maintenance counts, too! Exercise, meditation, recreation, creating stuff, and includes helping to serve others.
These are important things that you proactively work on before they become problems and end up in Quadrant 1.
Quadrant 3 Things that are not really important but they felt urgent… at least they did at the time.
In Quadrant 3 you’re in Distraction Mode. Think of all the alerts that pop up on your phone
that you just HAVE to check out. Some calls, texts, and emails. Binge watching to catch up with friends.
Quadrant 4 Things that aren’t important and aren’t urgent either.
In Quadrant 4, well… you’re just in Time Wasting Mode. Admit it.
Scrolling and swiping online and social media. Searching for entertainment. Video games. Celebrity news and gossip.
Four quadrants. Four types of things that keep you busy. Four quadrants. Four very different values.
In which quadrant do you spend most of your time?
If time is money—and they say that it is—think of your time as an investment. You have four types of time investments you make.
In Fire Fighting Mode, you invest $10, and get your $10 back.
In Quality Time Mode, you invest $10, and get $1000 back.
In Distraction Mode, you invest $10, and get $5 back.
In Time Wasting Mode, you flat out lose your $10. Always.
Where would you invest your time?
We promise, by spending more time in Quadrant 2, that is, Quality Time Mode, you’ll experience a profound effect on the results you’re getting in life.
So, how do you shift your time to the valuable Quadrant 2 time?
Start by asking yourself these 3 questions:
- What is the one activity you know if you did superbly well and consistently would have significant positive result in your personal life?
- What is the one activity you know if you did superbly well and consistently would have significant positive result in your professional life?
- If you know these things would make such a significant difference, why aren’t you doing them now?
