Brian Tracy Success - Separate Urgent From Important
Brian Sylvan
Another great success tip from Brian Tracy's Podcasts. This one comes from his "21 Great Ways To Double Your Productivity - Number 5."
Everything you do throughout the day fits into one of four categories:
1. Urgent and Important Tasks
You can't ignore these tasks because they're right in your face: a pesky phone call, a company meeting, a coworker stopping by to talk about something work-related. Put these off at your own peril.
If you're like a lot of people, you spend a lot of time working on these types of tasks. Some folks call this "putting out fires."
2. Important but NOT Urgent Tasks
Brian Tracy says that if you want to create the longest-lasting impact on your life, then finish these types of task.
These tasks include updating your business skills, personal renewal, spending time with your family, and physical fitness and exercise.
Don't put these tasks off for another day. If you want to change your life for the better, work on these now.
Mark my words, if you don't work on the Important BUT NOT Urgent Tasks now, the come back to bite you in the butt. Some tasks in this category are term papers for school and reports for your boss.
3. Urgent but NOT Important Tasks
Included in this group are phone calls, talking with coworkers, who drop by, about non-work related stuff.
Brian Tracy says that these tasks will have negative effects on your success. Don't delude yourself into thinking this type of work is important work.
In fact, these kinds of tasks are great time- and career-wasters. Stay away from tasks in this area.
But the biggest time-wasters are those in group four:
4. Neither Urgent NOR Important
Stay away from these tasks. They are completely useless; they have no consequences at all. Don't do things like reading the newspaper or calling home to find out what's for dinner. You will be contributing nothing to the company goals or to your personal aspirations.
To recap...
Always work first on your Most Urgent and Important Tasks. Next complete the Important But Not Urgent Tasks. And most vital to increasing your productivity is to refuse to work on non-important tasks.
Finally, always ask yourself "What are the lasting consequences of completing this task?"
When you answer this question, you'll know what to work on.
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