Showing posts with label prioritize. Show all posts
Showing posts with label prioritize. Show all posts
Thursday, 22 February 2018
What Do Time and Rivers Have in Common?
Flow is what time and rivers have in common.
Flow has such a gentle, inviting sound, doesn't it? It's
always there and it's something you relax into. You can count on flow.
When you let go and relax into it, the flow will carry you.
So why do we struggle so with flow -- most especially when
it comes to time?
Flow can't be forced.
The following passage from the Talmud is one that has always
fascinated me.
Who forces time is pushed back by time; who yields to time
finds time on his side.
I find this passage particularly interesting given the
emphasis on efficiency and productivity in our 24/7, always plugged-in, always
busy world.
So, what do you make of it?
For one thing, I'd say that this snippet clarifies the power
dynamic between time and humankind. No matter what we do, time flows. Fighting
it really offers no hope of success.
Watching the River
If you think of time as a river, the metaphor from the
Talmud is clearer. A river is a steady and powerful force. You hardly notice
the current most days, but it' there, moving all the time.
And trying to push back against a river is futile. The flow
of the river's water simply carries everything along with it.
It's the same with time.
Time and the River
Living in time, we are always in that flow. There is no
denying or escaping that fact.
The clock ticks, the calendar pages turn, time moves
constantly. And that flow will carry us if we relax and let it.
But what if we don't want to be carried?
Fighting the flow...
Have you ever tried to stand up and hold your footing in a
flood cresting river? Your feet slip as the deluge pushes your body back with
all the power and weight of the river.
You might be able to hold your own momentarily - but
eventually, inevitably, the effort will exhaust you and you'll be swept along,
seemingly even faster than before.
Time and the river - these are just not things that you can
force.
Going with the flow...
Meanwhile, imagine yourself floating on a tube down a river
on a warm, sunny, late summer afternoon. The water is moving along slowly and
you're moving along with it, enjoying the scenery.
What a different feeling that is. Rather than fighting the
river, you use its power, letting it carry you effortlessly.
Does this metaphor resonate for you? Try not fighting time
today.
So, try not fighting time today. Let it carry you, as you
plan your day, prioritize, make time choices, and appreciate each moment.
Let's explore time together...
Thursday, 1 February 2018
The Ultimate Time Management Principle
"Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of
things which matter least." - Johann Wolfgang Goethe
We all have the same 24 hours in everyday, and the
difference that makes the difference for each of us is how we choose to fill
them. The most productive people I have ever met have not necessarily been
harder working than everyone else; they just have a skill for appropriately
focusing their efforts according to the time they have at their disposal.
The problem with most time management systems is that they
are more concerned with generating maximum activity than they are about
achieving actual objectives.
A classic example of this is the humble daily To Do list,
where we jot down all the tasks that we believe need to be done that day and
then re-arrange them so that they are presented in a logical sequence; the
order in which we plan to tackle them. A popular approach is to get the quick
and easy tasks done first so that we'll be less distracted when it comes to
doing the meaty challenging jobs at the bottom of the list.
Sometimes this works fine, but more often than not we get so
caught up in the little tasks (and all the other distractions that inevitably
turn up, and were not on the list in the first pace) that we find ourselves
under real pressure by the time we get to the bigger ones.
So, we might think that the obvious solution is to
prioritise the big jobs first so that we can be confident that they will get
done, and then rattle through the little ones with the time that is left.
Again, sometime this can work fine, but all too often little
jobs left undone have a habit of turning into bigger problems further down the
line. The fact is, no matter which way you slice it, prioritising volumes of
activity against available time does not guarantee successful outcomes.
One of the "7 Habits of Highly Effective People" -
the work of Dr Stephen Covey - is the habit of 'Putting First Things First'.
This means in order to know how you need to be spending your time you must
first know the reason you are engaging in any activity in the first place.
An employee of any organisation is not paid simply to
produce reports, move widgets or go to meetings. Every employee must be
absolutely clear how their being there is helping that company achieve its
overall mission and objectives.
The same can be said of people in general. It is usually
true to say that the reason we go to work, build homes, raise families, support
charities, join groups, is not just to fill the time until we leave this mortal
coil. It is because we are driven by desires to make meaningful differences in
the World (even if we're not always consciously aware of what that means!). We
don't just go to work for going to work's sake. We go to work because it
contributes to the wider, more important story of our life.
If what you spend most of your time doing is not actually
aligned to some bigger purpose or moving your towards your goal, then the
obvious question has to be asked - why are you doing so much of it?
Dr. Covey introduces a fantastic prioritisation tool that I
have found indispensable in just about every area of my own life. Rather than
launching into a flurry of activity in the hope it can all get done within a
limited timeframe, the first thing to consider is the urgency of a task versus
its importance.
As a simplistic measure of how I gauge this is:
Urgent = Bad things happen if I don't do it
Important = Good things happen if I do
Imagine a large square that has been equally divided into
four smaller quadrants, each of them represents one of the combinations of
urgency versus importance.
1, Urgent and Important
Otherwise known as crisis! It has
to be addressed right now or there will be serious consequences. Being a
frequent visitor to Quadrant 1 takes up A LOT of energy.
* Unpaid bills
* Angry customers (or spouses!!)
* Health problems
* Pressing deadlines
* Fire fighting
2, Not Urgent, but Important -
These are tasks that
contribute to your mission, roles and goals. They don't necessarily have to be
done now, but if they spend too long untouched in Quadrant 2 they can end up in
Quadrant 1!!
* Learning new skills / knowledge
* Looking after your wellbeing
* Objective and goals setting
* Improving processes
* Nurturing Relationships
3, Urgent, but not Important -
Lovingly referred to as
'other people's problems'!! Of course, we want to be able to help other people
because the outcome of these activities is important to them, but when we spend
too much time in Quadrant 3, the things are important to us, personally, get
left out in the rain.
* Ringing Phone
* Interruptions
* Non-productive meetings
* Request from others
4, Not Urgent and Not Important -
AKA 'wasting time'. There
is a time and a place to waste time. At the end of a hectic day it can be just
what the doctor ordered to put your feet up, turn your head off and watch some
mindless TV. But if this becomes more of a habit than a meaningful use of
downtime, then your life direction begins to suffer.
* Trivia
* Gossip
* Excessive TV
* Time wasters
* Re-arranging your desk for the 20th time this morning!
Dr. Covey poses the question, what one activity are you convinced
that, if you were to start doing superbly and consistently well on a regular
basis, would bring you significant positive rewards in your life? (Perhaps it's
more dedicated quality time with loved ones, or going to the gym, or sitting
down and planning for the future). Then decide which quadrant that activity
sits in.
The answer is always Quadrant 2 - "Not Urgent, but
Important". It has to be important if it would give you such positive
rewards, and it is obviously not urgent, otherwise you would already be doing
more of it!
People who spend as much time as they can in Quadrant 2 find
that there is hardly ever a need to visit Quadrant 1, because they work on
important issues before they become problems. But the reason so few people
actually spend enough time engaging in Quadrant 2 activities is because, unlike
the other quadrants, there is no built-in mechanism to say when they actually
need to be done.
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Homework
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Take some time and decide on at least three Quadrant 2
activities that would immediately enrich your life in ways that are meaningful
to you. Then schedule appointments in your diary for each of those activities
to take place over the coming week. Stick to those appointments as if it is
crucial for you to show up and do them. If something or someone tries to elbow
their way into that time slot, politely refuse and say you're already booked
up. And most importantly, enjoy yourself;o)
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/3590632
Friday, 19 January 2018
Importance Of Failure
Failure is a word that no one wants to hear. It is the
biggest fear of a human being yet it is faced by every human being on earth at
least once in their life. We need to learn how to deal with this word
'failure'.
A lot of people in this world give up on their lives just
because they couldn't achieve something they desire. People ignore the fact
that failure helps the man to distinguish what he did wrong.
Here are some tips which can help you get into the positive
side of life and change the failure into victory.
1. SAY NO TO GIVING UP
Before starting anything that you think will give you
success, promise yourself that you will never give up if you failed at this
particular task. This promise to self makes your mind ready for both failure
and triumphs. But what if you didn't do that in the start? Then always remember
that it is never too late. If you think that now you can do nothing or you are
over, you are just making an excuse.
2. LEARN FROM YOUR MISTAKES
This is the opportunity that you should not let go of.
Suppose you are in a football ground. You are playing alone and there is a
goalkeeper. You make an aim and strike the football but the goalkeeper stops
it. This goalkeeper is life. It is challenging you at every point and it will
continue to do so till you take your last breathe. You strike the ball for 9
times in a row and fail. But in the tenth attempt, you strike it in such a
manner that you retrieved those 9 'in a row failures'. That's how it works. You
cannot quit till you leave the ground. And if you leave the ground, you gave
up. Those 9 attempts proved that you somehow learnt from your mistakes.
3. NEVER THINK THAT YOU'VE GOT ONLY PLAN A
The worst thing you can do after failing at some project is
thinking that it was the only plan you could ever think of. Don't ever
underestimate yourself. There is always another plan. If plan A fails Plan B
and if plan B fails Plan C. If you are into achieving something, no one or
nothing in this world can stop you rather all the world will conspire to make
you achieve it.
4. POSITIVE MINDSET
This is the most important thing that you need to live a
contented life. Always think positive. Spread positivity. Never let yourself
down. If you bring negativity around you, it will not let you achieve your
dreams. Positivity is all we need to grow and establish ourselves in this
world.
People need to let go of the bad things or failures faced
and should start prioritizing over positivity. By doing this particular act,
they can achieve their life goals and master the game of life.
Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Amemah_Farooq/2426922
