How to seperate Important vs. Urgent

June 9, 2006 2:29 PM

Over and over again I am being told I need to distinguish between the important vs. the urgent. But nobody gives you any specific strategies on just how to go about doing that. In the morning everything looks urgent and everything looks important. I'm being told that tasks like: Balance the checkbook - Change the oil - Return the overdue library book - Making collection calls, etc. are all unimportant tasks and should be pushed aside for the Important tasks, like: Researching that new business idea, developing my subordinates, personal development. Yet when ever I spend time with the important tasks, the unimportant task terrorize my mental energy and sap any enthusiasm I have for engaging in important tasks. I often give to the impulse to get at some urgent but not important tasks and piss away another day. Only to get up and repeat the process the very next day. I'd be interested in hearing about strategies, systems or products that you use to break yourself out of this loop.
posted by garyfugere to work & money (13 comments total)

I devote a certain amount of time every day to dealing with the important (but not urgent) stuff - if it's scheduled in, it's easier not to put it to one side in favour of urgent but less important tasks.
posted by joannemerriam at 2:35 PM on June 9, 2006

I would seriously recommend the Getting Things Done method. Go to amazon or your local bookshop and pick up the book. It has changed my life.
posted by k8t at 2:38 PM on June 9, 2006

i struggle with this as well...one strategy that i've had some success with is to keep a running list (if you're on the computer much of the time, keep open a text file), and when one of the small, unimportant tasks comes to mind and threatens to steal your attention, put it on the list and let it go...kind of like taking the data from the RAM in your mind and writing it to the hard drive in order to free your mind up for the more immediate processing tasks...

...of course, a big part of that strategy is going back and actually looking at those lists...

...another rule some people use is that if you can complete the small task within two minutes, it might be worth it to get it over with so you can let it go...

..also, in deciding what is important and what is not, a good strategy might be to figure out which has the more dire consequences if it is ignored (e.g., the size of an overdue library book fine versus repair cost of a car lacking oil)...
posted by troybob at 2:44 PM on June 9, 2006

I'll second the Getting Things Done recommendation. Even if you don't adopt the entire method (I have yet fully take advantage of it), the book helps you to change the way you approach tasks like this.
posted by arco at 2:47 PM on June 9, 2006

The Getting Things Done method will allow you to stop worrying about the smaller tasks and do them when you have random time.
posted by names are hard at 2:52 PM on June 9, 2006

Google for Time Management, Procrastination, Organization.

The Urgent / Important grid is one way to look at Time Management. Steven Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is full of the obvious, but may be just what you need. Previous thread with some ideas, including some from me. Read Getting Things Done.

When you start the day, have a shortlist of tasks. Break the tasks into very concrete steps. One step might be:
Start making a plan for developing my subordinates:
- Open a file,
- generate 3 ideas,
- find out what other depts are doing by calling Sam in the Seattle office.

As other tasks crowd your mind, write them on an index card. The index cards can go on the wall, or on the toDo list, or whatever - you want to capture the task, but not get sidetracked.

After you finish the scheduled tasks, you can do other tasks that come up or grab your attention. As you learn an organization program, you'll get better at it.
posted by theora55 at 3:27 PM on June 9, 2006

Put your urgent (i.e. time-sensitive) tasks on your calendar and devote time once a week to doing anything coming due that week. If it's not that time, don't do them.

What you're experiencing is basically a form of procrastination. You are avoiding the important tasks because they are difficult and you're not sure you can do them.
posted by kindall at 3:31 PM on June 9, 2006

"Develop my subordinates" is not a task.

It is a project which will require many small tasks to complete (eg "Make appointment with Susan to discuss improved project management techniques" is one such task).

I second reading Getting Things Done.
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 3:56 PM on June 9, 2006

...of course, a big part of that strategy is going back and actually looking at those lists...

hardest part of GTD to implement in my opinion. My lists get so long I don't even want to look, or add to them sometimes. From the book (Getting Things Done) I've learned that if your lists are getting too big to accomplish it seems that you are not delegating or saying no enough. I have a hard time saying no and hate delegating so I tend to take on too many tasks that lead to paralysis and send me right to Metafilter...

So long story short, I'm in the same boat as you, but pick up the book, it's got a lot of innovative ideas like actionable, contextual lists that will help you break down your tasks to the point that they are doable. I'm much better than I used to be but still have a long way to go.
posted by any major dude at 6:05 PM on June 9, 2006

I listened to Getting Things Done on a tape from the library, and followed 43 Folders. I can offer the caveat that I got a lot of breath down my neck at work as I broke projects down into tasks. Some people prefer to sit in an inscrutable nest of interwoven habits (a right-brain version of efficiency, I suppose) and don't appreciate the streamlined execution that can come as the result of careful planning. Some would rather see someone floundering than practicing anything as abstract as organization. I'd still recommend checking GTD out as the other posters have.

A habit I came away with is idiot-proofing my projects, even if I'm the only one involved.
posted by evil holiday magic at 6:12 PM on June 9, 2006

Here's my solution:

(1) Realize that productivity while doing errands (busy work) is an illusion. It can be very mentally rewarding to finish reorganizing your drawers and cleaning up your inbox, but these menial tasks do little to get you ahead in life. Realizing this fact and changing your emotional response is key. One good way to do this is to give yourself a certain number of "points" after doing a task based on how much that task will get you closer to your goals in life. Writing a simple cover letter and sending it to a potential employer can feasibly be worth 20 times as many "points" as an errand that would take just as long. Just make it your daily goal to rack up as many points as possible, and even to stop working each day when you reach a certain threshold. Eventually you'll completely lose the inclination for busywork when you see how worthless it is.

(2) Read "How to do what you love" by Paul Graham on www.paulgraham.com

(3) Make a to-do list sorted by the tasks' importance. Always work on what's at the top of the list.
posted by lunchbox at 7:00 PM on June 9, 2006

Another option is to simply accept that this is the way your brain works (not mind, brain) and live with it. Not every person requires such a large number of folders or a set of bookmarks of sites that tell you how to get things done. Not every person needs to be as organized as those people; some may simply need to accept their nature.
posted by joeclark at 6:01 AM on June 10, 2006

Yet when ever I spend time with the important tasks, the unimportant task terrorize my mental energy and sap any enthusiasm I have for engaging in important tasks.

In that case, you need to understand exactly how trivial the "unimportant" tasks are. How long does it take to get your oil changed? Not that long, and if you do it right it requires no more than one phone call for planning and maybe a half hour of your time. It's not a task that requires thought, only action. Do you worry about brushing your teeth, making your bed, or putting on clothes? What about driving to work? These are similar things that are either regular routines or maintenance tasks but they're nearly automatic to you. They're things to do, but you're doing small tasks from the moment you wake up in the morning, so stop worrying about the trivial one.
posted by mikeh at 4:32 PM on June 10, 2006