URGENCY – VALUE

Urgency

Sometimes urgent things are important; sometimes they aren’t

When something is urgent, take a little time to think it through. Well-though-out solutions are usually better than impulsive ones.

Spend your time with the people who are most important to you.

Before you respond, consider the worst than can happen. You are less likely to react emotionally and more likely to respond sensibly.

Urgent and important are not the same thing. See the Priority section.

Most people respond to urgent items far faster than important items. To make important things seem more urgent, set deadlines for them and schedule the activities.

Make time to take care of the important issues, even if they are not urgent.


Value

Calculate the cost of your time in dollars.

Calculate the cost of your time per minute. It is probably higher than you realize. Be sure to include salary, bonuses, commissions, fringe benefits, expenses, and overhead.

Sometimes it is easier to decide whether or not to do a task if you think of the dollars involved rather than the time involved. Using your personal time-cost per minute, translate the time into dollars. Where as you may be prone to excuse something because it only takes a few minutes, you may think differently when you see what it costs.

Calculate the cost of preparing and distributing all reports. Ask if they are worth what they cost.

Calculate the cost of meetings. Ask if the results are worth what they cost.

Calculate the money cost for any activity, not just the time involved. Many people find it easier to make decisions based on money than on time. Either way, it helps you decide what is really important and worth doing.