Important, Not Urgent
Priorities. We have lots of tasks that we need to accomplish every day, every week.
And for these priority tasks, we usually go by four labels: Urgent / Not Urgent / Important / Not Important.
And for these priority tasks, we usually go by four labels: Urgent / Not Urgent / Important / Not Important.
The first priority combination is Urgent and Important. These are calls that need to be returned, requests for data by your boss, letters from clients that need to be responded to, or utility bills that are nearing a payment deadline. These are matters that demand our attention now, at the moment, and they certainly need to be addressed.
The second priority combination is Urgent but Not Important. These also demand our attention but only have limited impact on our long-term well being. These would be some emails, some bills. Maybe a reminder from a website to proceed with your newsletter subscription now or you will lose a 20% discount on their product.
The third priority combination is Not Urgent and Not Important, so we won’t even discuss it. Haha. Well, if it’s not important nor urgent, it really does not merit to be a priority, right?
Our fourth priority combination then is Not Urgent but Important. Let’s hit Pause here and think for moment: what are things that are important to you, but not urgent?
Important but not urgent. Of the four priority combinations, this is sadly the one usually swept aside, placed in the bottom of our to-do list precisely because they are not urgent.
Things that are important but are not urgent are those that require us to take time to sit down quietly and think. These are the things that usually take a longer perspective or strategic appreciation. Things like our relationships with our spouse, our children, our parents and siblings, or how we take care of ourselves. It also involves all the work we devote for maintenance as well: for our homes and our vehicles perhaps; and maintenance of our health, our spirit, our mental and emotional growth.
Take some time this weekend to think about the things that are important to you but are not urgent. Ask yourself how would you like to proceed on these things?
I remember discussing this with my friend one time, and she looked at her weekly to-do lists in a new light. To build relationships with her spouse and their daughter, she started to intentionally set aside time for weekly dates with them. She decided that they need not be expensive. A time to just have ice-cream together, or to play a game, or watch a TV show, or go on a bike ride. And for her own self growth, she decided to set aside time for journaling.
It is not so much the external factors that are crucial, as much as the connections that are being strengthened.
Think about things that are important but not urgent. In the length of our living, they are usually the ones that matter the most.
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