When planning your week, it’s important to consider strategies that maximize your productivity and efficiency.
A TED Talk I recently watched takes Stephen Covey’s valuable “Urgent/Non-Urgent” and “Important/Not Important” paradigm to the next level by introducing the concept of ‘significance.’
The video is insightful and well worth your time. The speaker defines ‘significance’ as focusing on tasks you can set up today that will run on autopilot and save you time in the future. For example, setting up online banking might take a few hours initially but can save you 30 minutes every month, giving you a ‘Return on Time Investment’ (ROTI) in just four months.
Other ways to multiply your time include:
- Delegation: Investing time in training someone can save you hours in the future.
- Automation: Setting up automated systems or processes can significantly reduce the time you spend on repetitive tasks.
- Procrastination as a strategy: Delaying tasks that are not urgent but important can sometimes be beneficial, allowing you to focus on more critical tasks first.
In your planning, aim to stay in the ‘Non-Urgent + Important + Significant’ quadrant as much as possible this week. This approach will help you achieve long-term gains and make the most of your time.
