Prioritise the 'important' over the 'urgent'!

Oi, oi, time for a quickie?

Do you find yourself so consumed with the urgent that you never have time for the important?

This week, a director vented their frustration that they were so tied up having to put out fires, that they never really had time to "get ahead with the more strategic stuff" they should be focussing on.

When I asked about what kind of fires they were having to put out, it became clear that the strategic stuff they never had time for was the root cause of the fires.

Without finding the time for the strategic stuff, the fires would keep on starting!

It was clear that they were short-staffed and that dealing with both the fires and the strategic stuff was going to require that they worked some longer hours for a period of time.

When I mentioned this, they said...

"But, by the time I get to the end of the day, putting out all those fires leaves me with so little energy!"

And I totally get it –?it's hard to find energy for the important when you've expended your reserves on the urgent.

But there is a cunning way you can get around this.

Do the important stuff first!

Look, I know that the 'urgent' stuff feels like it needs to be done now...but it probably doesn't.

Unless you're a surgeon, in A&E Trauma, a Paramedic etc. the 'urgent' stuff can probably wait a few hours –?until after-hours.

Instead of putting out all the fires straight away?–?during normal working hours – leaving yourself completely shattered and with little energy to do what's important, do the important stuff first, when you have the energy.

Leave the urgent stuff until the end of the day.

Why?

Because by doing it this way around...

1. You'll have done something about stopping the fires from starting again in the furture –?be getting ahead of the curve.
2. Even if you use all your energy doing the important (strategic) stuff, if the urgent tasks REALLY ARE URGENT, you'll easily find the time and energy to deal with them after hours.
3. You might find that the fire has burned itself out in the mean time.

In summary, while it might sound counterintuitive, prioritise the important over the urgent – at least for a few hours?–?because the urgent will continue to plague you if you don't find time for what's important.

NOTE: A great example of this is getting stuck in the weeds because you're short-staffed and never find time the hire help.

I'd love to hear how this plays out for you.

Feel free to share your experiences and insights in the comments.

Enjoy!

Love, Paul

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