So many important but not urgents - how do I manage them?

[yinhong]

I'm a university student and have been trying to organise myself by splitting up my tasks by using Covey's four quadrant system.

But since doing well at uni is important to me, my quadrant II (Important but not Urgent) is completely brimming with uni stuff; mainly do coursework, and study material.

So what advice can you give me on how to manage quadrant II? What order should I do things in. Should I do a bit of each item every day?

[Leki]

Originally Posted by yinhong

I'm a university student and have been trying to organise myself by splitting up my tasks by using Covey's four quadrant system.

But since doing well at uni is important to me, my quadrant II (Important but not Urgent) is completely brimming with uni stuff; mainly do coursework, and study material.

So what advice can you give me on how to manage quadrant II? What order should I do things in. Should I do a bit of each item every day?

Put all your tasks in a list and prioritize them by a deadline you have to get them done. Start the high priority tasks and knock down the easiest of among them and then go to next one.

As for school stuff this is what I did that helped me lot: I always start my assignments the day they were assigned and everyday I do a little bit of it. This will give you the opportunity to finish the assignment on time and go back to it if you have to. Also It will allow to go to the teacher for help if you need to and it will give the teacher idea that you start your assignment on time and ask questions.

[yinhong]

Hi. I've tried doing this but I have deadlines pretty much every week. Thus I have found myself constantly not making those deadlines, and thus having outstanding to dos (which are in my important and urgent list).

So I spend all my time on this, but then before I know it, something from the Important but wasn't urgent list has suddenly become urgent. And it's a huge project.

So what am I supposed to do?

[Leki]

Originally Posted by yinhong

Hi. I've tried doing this but I have deadlines pretty much every week. Thus I have found myself constantly not making those deadlines, and thus having outstanding to dos (which are in my important and urgent list).

So I spend all my time on this, but then before I know it, something from the Important but wasn't urgent list has suddenly become urgent. And it's a huge project.

So what am I supposed to do?

If you have deadlines pretty much every week then you might be taking on too much or giving yourself short deadlines or you have too many granular tasks. I think if you prioritize all of your tasks there will be tasks you could eliminate pretty easily or combine with others. In the personal development journey one thing that I realize is that you will ALWAYS have a list of to-dos and the question is how you organize and manage your tasks

[yinhong]

Hi Leki. Thanks for spending your time to help me out mate - its deeply appreciated.

Unfortunately, I can't afford to eliminate any tasks. All of them relate directly to me getting my final grade, thus all of them are IMPORTANT, hence i have to do them.

The more I think about this, the more I think the problem may be trying to balance how much I do between the Important and Urgent stuff and the Important but not Urgent stuff.

If my plan is to do all my 'important and urgent' stuff first, then the 'important but not urgent' stuff, by the time I get to the 'important but not urgent' stuff they will most probably have become urgent already (based on my empirical evidence so far)! And so I'm locked in the routine of always doing urgent things - never able to get started on the non-urgent things early, or at least in advance. Note that all this time, I am spending my time on the IMPORTANT things, not once delving into the Unimportant quadrants.

On the other hand, let's say I stop doing the 'Important and Urgent' things for a while. In replacement, I focus my time and efforts on the 'important but not urgent' things on my list. The problem that will occur though, is that not only will the 'Important and Urgent' things start to pile up, but because they're important and I didn't do them asap, I'll suffer serious (relative to my goals) consequences.

So (sigh), I'm completely stuck. Last year, I had the same problem except that instead of trying to keep up with everything, I gave up and procrastinated for the whole year instead. Hence, I am actually retaking this year again. And although this whole summer I've worked my butt off to stop my procrastinating and perfectionism habits, I've STILL, STILL(!) found myself in the same situation as last year. I can't bear the thought of going through the year again like this.

[Leki]

Originally Posted by yinhong

Hi Leki. Thanks for spending your time to help me out mate - its deeply appreciated.

Unfortunately, I can't afford to eliminate any tasks. All of them relate directly to me getting my final grade, thus all of them are IMPORTANT, hence i have to do them.

The more I think about this, the more I think the problem may be trying to balance how much I do between the Important and Urgent stuff and the Important but not Urgent stuff.

If my plan is to do all my 'important and urgent' stuff first, then the 'important but not urgent' stuff, by the time I get to the 'important but not urgent' stuff they will most probably have become urgent already (based on my empirical evidence so far)! And so I'm locked in the routine of always doing urgent things - never able to get started on the non-urgent things early, or at least in advance. Note that all this time, I am spending my time on the IMPORTANT things, not once delving into the Unimportant quadrants.

On the other hand, let's say I stop doing the 'Important and Urgent' things for a while. In replacement, I focus my time and efforts on the 'important but not urgent' things on my list. The problem that will occur though, is that not only will the 'Important and Urgent' things start to pile up, but because they're important and I didn't do them asap, I'll suffer serious (relative to my goals) consequences.

So (sigh), I'm completely stuck. Last year, I had the same problem except that instead of trying to keep up with everything, I gave up and procrastinated for the whole year instead. Hence, I am actually retaking this year again. And although this whole summer I've worked my butt off to stop my procrastinating and perfectionism habits, I've STILL, STILL(!) found myself in the same situation as last year. I can't bear the thought of going through the year again like this.

May be Covey's method is not the best method for you to use. I recommend giving shots to other methods. Steve's got several articles about goals and tasks and there are also other methods out there. Got it a shot and evaluate how you par on those method.

[yinhong]

I have yet to implement GTD but have studied it intensely; I don't see it providing me with the solutions.

Thank you for helping me discuss this through Leki. Even though these thoughts have been running through my head for a long time, it helps to write it down and make my midn engage in different thinking process. I've made a couple of small breakthroughs, which I won't mention here. I'm going to go and try them out. And then come back and post my results.

In the meantime, ANY more advice is completely welcome and encouraged.

[Alvin]

Hi yinhong,

First off, I'm glad you're doing your best to implement Covey's 4 Quadrants into your life. They're valuable distinctions that can serve you a lifetime.

Now, I don't know your exact situation but it sounds like you're going through an overwhelm of important AND urgent things - yes, this can happen and Covey even says so in one of his chapters; that sometimes life will be unbalanced and you just have to make do.

While Covey's First Things First method is powerful, combined with David Allen's GTD method it's like dynamite. First Things First is a 'mission-down' approach, so you get a handle on what the important things are to focus on. GTD is a 'tasks-up' approach, so you get a handle on the nitty-gritty details of everyday life.

4 Things I suggest, right off the bat:

1) Look for some GTD proponents around you to coach you on the GTD method. The problem with GTD is that while effective, can be difficult to figure out and implement. Do a search online and see who can help you out - it's a lot faster this way.

2) Do the weekly review to plan out your week. Do the weekly review that Covey (and even Allen) teach. This is a MUST-DO, it's not negotiable. You'll see a visible difference in the quality of your week.

3) Concentrate on the 20% of your effort that produces 80% of the results. While in real life, the percentages aren't that hard and fast, the Pareto Principle is a useful way to think about productivity.

Declutter your life by eliminating unnecessary tasks. You're probably thinking that everything is necessary - but what if you have to be ruthless about it? What is at least one thing you can eliminate from your tasks that will make you even more productive?

Use the power of co-operation. Any tasks you can share? My friends used to do notes in groups, with each person handling particular chapters and then everyone getting a copy of each other's.

Outsource. Have some spare cash? Outsource work you don't have to do yourself to someone else. Tim Ferris' book The 4 Hour Workweek is a one-of-a-kind resource to get you fired up on this strategy.

4) Do your importants first thing in the morning. If you're really desperate and want to have time to do your important but not urgents, schedule them in as the first thing to do when you wake up.

What are the important but not urgents you want to get a handle on?

[Tristan]

Hi Yinhong,

Personally, I have taken several of Covey's seminars and while a lot of it is pretty good stuff, I've found that some of it is too abstract to implement in my daily life.

Covey's quadrant system can be summed up in an easier way....As Alvin mentioned before......it's the 80/20 rule, also known as Pareto's Principle, which states that 80% of your given results only come from 20% of all the actions you take, so focus your attention on those 20% of your actions that really produce the results in your life.

The one thing that I did take out of Covey's courses was using a paper based day planner religiously....I literally don't take any actions without first consulting it. The problem with the traditional day planner is that it's too restrictive for incoming workflow.

I like David Allen's GTD system of capturing and processing and I've integrated his philosophy into my day planner system by using a master list. Think of a master list as a waiting room for all your NEXT ACTIONS. Nothing should ever be written in your day planner's to do list straight from your head. Instead, you write them down on your master list and from your master list you transfer them over to your to do list. This is amazingly powerful because you dump all the things you have to remember out of your head--hence relieving stress and you can be selective in what you put down in your to do list each day.

One of the important things to remember is not to list multiple step projects on your to do list because that almost certainly causes procrastination. You have to break those projects down into it's smallest components....next actions.....which can be done in one sitting.

With the master list system, I don't worry as much with assigning priorities because ALL my actions have to wait in the "waiting room"--my master list and from there they get triaged into my to-do list, which I intentionally keep very sparce so that I can complete everything I do each day and when I can handle more, I simply pull from the master list.

I've written an extensive article on how to integrate a master list system with a day planner here.

[Sunnybayes]

Do it Now.
How I managed to get straight A's this semester, thanks to Steve's blog
Steve's tips for college students

This part is crucial:

9. Master advanced memory techniques.

One of the keys to learning material the first time it’s taught is to train yourself in advanced memory techniques. I used them often in classes that required rote memorization of certain facts, including names, dates, and mathematical formulas. If a teacher wrote something on the board that had to be memorized verbatim for an upcoming exam, I’d memorize it then and there. Then I wouldn’t have to go back and study it later.

...

I don’t recommend memorizing by repetition because it’s way too slow. Pegging and chaining do not require repetition — they allow you to imbed strong memories on a single pass, usually in seconds. The downside is that pegging and chaining require a lot of up-front practice to master, but once you learn them, these are valuable skills you’ll have for life.

Its probably too late to learn for this semester, though you might be able to learn the technique for next semester.