"Look at a day when you are supremely
satisfied at the end. It's not a day
when you lounge around doing nothing;
it's when you've had everything to do,
and you've done it."
-- Margaret Thatcher
Are you feeling overwhelmed? There is something
about this time of the year. Between gift buying
and family get-togethers and end of the year reports
and holiday office parties, there are times when I
want to withdraw from the entire human race, myself
included. But then I would miss out on the “fun”
that is this time of year.
Stressed? Who, me?
I’ve got invitations to numerous parties buried
under a stack of papers here. I’ve already taken
Moses (my grandson – see the photo on the left –
isn’t he gorgeous?) to have his picture taken with
Santa. I haven’t started Christmas shopping. I
have papers to grade and a final exam to create.
Meanwhile, I’m in charge of over 150 volunteers at a
conference on Friday that will bring in over 2500
small business owners and 600 buyers from large
corporations and government agencies of all levels.
And this newsletter is late getting out and I’m
never late on this newsletter. Am I stressing? You
bet I am.
Whenever I start feeling that gnawing sensation at
the pit of my stomach, I know it’s time to regroup.
When things are spinning and I don’t know what I
need to do next, I rely on Stephen Covey’s time
management grid.
For those of you not familiar with this tool, you
draw two columns and two rows with “Urgent” and “Not
Urgent” at the top of the columns, and “Important”
and “Not Important” at the left of the two rows.
(See the diagram at the left.) The first quadrant
(Urgent, Important) is for those things that are
deadline driven, things that cannot wait. The
second quadrant (Not Urgent, Important) are for
things that mean a great deal, but may not be on a
deadline. Planning and marketing may be in this
quadrant. (Moses is here until he’s hungry or needs
a diaper change.) The third quadrant (Urgent, Not
Important) are distractions. For me, it’s some
phone calls and emails. The fourth quadrant (Not
Urgent, Not Important) is the time wasting section
and may include anything that is not productive.
Before things reach the first quadrant
The trick is to try to get things done when they are
in the second quadrant. For example, on February 1,
your income taxes are in the second quadrant. They
move quickly to the first quadrant on April 15.
If your first quadrant is filled with too many items
to even worry about the other quadrants, ask
yourself if anything can be moved or delegated.
Then ask if you are unnecessarily adding stress to
yourself. Then focus on what is left in the first
quadrant until you get it done.
At one point last year, I was filling one of these
out every day. I’m happy to say that I don’t have
to rely on this tool very often these days, but this
week I’m back at it.
What's important?
Another tool I use, especially at this time of year,
when things finally start to slow down (usually
between Christmas and the New Year), is to list all
the major activities that I am involved in and
measure them against what is important to me. The
measurements change a little each year, but they
follow basic categories:
- Does this activity get me closer to my goals?
- Does this activity make me happy?
- Does this activity make money now or have the
potential to make money in the near future?
I rate each activity on each category on a five
point scale. So for instance, this newsletter rates
a score of 4 on category #1, 4 on category #2, and
2 on category #3, for a total of 10. I do this for
each major activity, including volunteer work.
Then, armed with the totals for each activity, I
decide whether I have the resources to continue all
of the activities. I especially look at anything
that scores less than 5 points. It’s been a good
guideline, especially at times when I’m tempted to
do something just to make a little more money.
As I’ve said before, everything that takes you away
from your goals postpones the goals. You have to
have some balance in your life, but the more
activities that you can do that score at the top on
each of these categories, the better. The ideal
life, to me, is one where I make a lot of money,
doing what I love, that helps me accomplish what I
believe I was put here to do.
Have a wonderful winter season, no matter what
holiday you celebrate!
