In our pursuit of balancing the compass and the clock … the important vs the urgent … there is a need to understand how to process the urgent matters.  Urgent matters force themselves on us constantly.

Urgent matters can so force themselves on us, that they can be a “tyrant” in our lives.  There is little we can do about that.  However, how we respond to them is our choice.  And as such, you can choose to be a slave to the urgent, or you can declare your independence.

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In this episode, I share on the following topics:

• The things in life that push urgency on us
• Technology: friend or foe?
• Why we secretly love the urgent
• The Urgency Test … a 16 item test to determine the impact of urgency in your life
• The 4 quadrants as Star Wars characters

I also share 7 Action Steps you can put into place to start downsizing the impact of urgency in your life:

1. Write down your feelings when you think of the word “urgency” and “important.”
2. List some sample activities in all 4 quadrants.
3. Rob from Quadrant III and IV to feed Quadrant II.
4. Learn a new identity.
5. Consider outsourcing.
6. Realize that Quadrant II can change.
7. Plan your important Quadrant II areas for next week.

Episode Resources

In this episode I mentioned several resources, including:

• Stephen Covey, “First Things First”
• ‘Grueling’ hours at banks in focus after intern death
• On the Job: Live the dream and do what you love
• Urgency Test
• Tyranny of the Urgent!
• Office Space – Special Edition with Flair (Widescreen Edition)
• The 4 Quadrants

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Question: What are some of your urgent matters?  How are you planning on dealing with them in some way this coming week?  You can leave a comment by clicking here.