Time planning exercise at the beginning of September
It seems to you that every day you have many things to do, that there are always urgent things that you cannot say no to. If you receive an email, a phone call, or someone writing to you asking for your help, don’t think too much and answer immediately. Everything that happens seems like it can’t be put off, it has to be done now. And these days you think with some fear that September is coming and you already feel overwhelmed by what is to come. It was a period of calm and tranquility, you slowed down, maybe you had a break to rest, to have a vacation, but soon all responsibilities will return. You remember how sometimes you go around in circles and that apart from the things that are priority and urgent, nothing else seems to fit into your daily schedule.
And you have been dealing with this way of doing things for several years. You’ll be tired again, exhausted, you’ll feel that nothing you propose comes to fruition, you’ll feel that everyone wants something from you, and that you can’t say no.
I want to show you a way to prioritize your daily tasks and long-term goals. I’m sure you’re going to say, oh another strategy, I’m tired of so many strategies, nothing works for me. And I believe you, when you’re overwhelmed by all the things you have to do every day, to have someone come and tell you, “Look, try this exercise too”, makes you reluctant, and irritated. It goes without saying. How to find time to do something extra. But I promise you that if you do this exercise it will be better for you, because it will help you on several levels, in addition to planning your time, it will help you to be able to say “no” and it will also help you to ask for help.
I must confess that I apply these strategies and exercises weekly. The role in the organization where I work has hardened me to deal with pressure, urgent requests, and planned and unplanned work to avoid critical customer issues and respond promptly to their requests. It wasn’t easy all the time, at first I was extremely anxious, and stressed, I felt that I wasn’t doing things right and on time, that everything that was asked of me was urgent and had to be done right now. I felt a huge pressure on my shoulders. In the meantime, I learned to plan according to priorities, to ask for teaching deadlines, not to answer every question or email immediately, but to say that I don’t have time, but at the same time to specify when I can come back.
And I try to do this both personally and professionally. Of course, it’s not possible all the time, unexpected things happen, but I can still guarantee that this exercise will help you. It takes a few repetitions to get into the habit of doing it, but once you get used to it you will see that the biggest gain will be that you will reduce the pressure you feel on your shoulders.
The first thing you need to do is look at your current schedule. Grab a pen and paper and list all the tasks and activities you have to do each day. Most likely you have them all in your mind and they are all buzzing creating agitation and stress, because in addition to keeping them all in your mind, you have to create space to remember them. So don’t just keep them in your head, put them on paper. This step should include both the things you have to do daily, your weekly goals, and what you set out to do in the long term. Now is not the time to prioritize them on your list, just write them down. You will realize that just by doing this simple exercise you will release some of the pressure you feel. You will feel it as a release of the mind because by writing all the activities there is no need to remember them.
So, coming back, write down all the tasks and activities. Then divide another sheet of paper into 4 quadrants, because you will divide tasks and activities into 4 categories: the first quadrant for urgent and important activities, the second quadrant for urgent and less important activities, the third quadrant for important and less important activities, and the fourth quadrant for non-important and non-urgent activities.
From practical experience, I noticed that the people I worked with in the area of time planning found it much easier to separate professional activities and personal activities at the beginning. Thus, they needed two sheets of paper, one for the personal part, and the second for the professional part, and they divided each sheet into four quadrants.
When you get used to the exercise and integrate it into your life every week, you may want to combine them so that you have an overview of how you can plan your time. You can start as is easier for you.
Before you put the activities into categories, let’s see what each one represents.
As I said, the first category is for urgent and important activities. You will pass them in the top left quadrant. Here, we talk about the professional area, approaching delivery deadlines, important meetings with clients, and solving situations that can escalate and generate blockages in the business. If we talk about the personal area, you will pass in this quadrant those situations that require immediate attention: urgent health problems of you or a family member, domestic problems, or repair of the electrical or sanitary installation in the house.
The second category is for important, non-urgent activities. However, even if the activities in the first quadrant are the most urgent and important and it is necessary to plan them immediately, when you work on the activities and tasks in the second quadrant you will be able to reduce the number of urgent situations that you usually place in quadrant 1 For example, you have a delivery time in 2 months. You know it’s an important activity, but it’s not urgent, you have enough time to work so that you fit into the two months. If you place this activity in quadrant 2 and start working on that project ahead of time, you won’t end up in a crisis when you’re not ready the day before.
The third category is for urgent but unimportant activities. These activities are the ones that most often exhaust you, seem pressing, but do not contribute to your personal or professional goals, and do not require immediate attention. For example, interruptions caused by phone calls or emails, which do not require immediate attention and can be addressed after you have completed your important and urgent tasks, and important and less urgent ones. Or the rush to fix something minor in the house, but which is not an emergency, for example, a stain on the carpet. These activities also include those that you can delegate or for which you can ask for help.
The fourth category is for activities that are neither urgent nor important. This includes activities that mean wasted time, and they could either be minimized or eliminated. Spending time on social media, and watching TV for hours are some of the activities you can spend in Quadrant 4.
Once you have listed all the activities and tasks you have to do, place them in the appropriate quadrant. You will be tempted to place everything in the first quadrant, the one with urgent and important activities. It’s a sign that you feel overwhelmed and have a lot on your shoulders.
That’s why, try to take some quiet time, at least half an hour. Like I said, you’re probably going to tell me at this point that you don’t have time. However, I guarantee that this exercise will bring space and light to your mind.
So, after listing the activities, you can start planning the time required for the urgent and important activities. So write down how much time you need for each activity. These are the activities that cannot be postponed. At this step, you will realize that there are activities that you promised to do. But they are not urgent. And some of them you realize you shouldn’t have even said yes to because they distract you from the things that are important to you personally or professionally. For example, you sign up for a course because everyone else has, but this course isn’t in the career direction you want, so it’s probably not even useful. But don’t blame yourself, doing this exercise week after week you will learn to make the right decisions, and you will know what to say “yes” and what to say “no”.
Then she schedules time for important but non-urgent things, just to make sure they don’t become urgent in the meantime.
Finally, depending on the time left each day after you have planned the other activities, see which activities can fall into the category of urgent but unimportant activities. And those that you place in the category of unimportant and non-urgent activities, you can even eliminate them so that you can free up your daily time and use it for more important and urgent activities.
It may seem complicated at first glance. As you do this exercise, you will realize the benefits. You will have a clearer view of those activities that require your immediate attention and what can be done later. You will learn to plan your time effectively to reduce stress and the overwhelming feeling of having so many things to do every day.
This exercise is called the Eisenhower matrix and is named after the 34th president of the United States of America, who invented it. It’s a great tool for planning time and activities based on urgency and importance.
And if you need help or have questions you can write to me. What I hear from my clients when we do this exercise is that it helps them vent a lot. At the end of the sessions, they tell me that their minds are clearer and calmer because they manage to reduce stress and pressure.
With love, Raluca ❤️
