Nothing’s getting done!’ wailed Rinku. ‘I made a long list of things to do six months ago — publishing articles, joining a certificate course, improving my health — and nothing happened.’
‘I stopped making lists,’ said Rahul. ‘They’re useless. Right, bhaiyya?’
‘Wrong,’ said Rakesh. ‘It’s not just about making lists. You need to prioritise what’s important and work on those. That’s when things get done.’
‘But I’m busy all day,’ said Rinku. ‘What more can I do?’
‘You’re clearly wasting your time and energy on unimportant things, Watson,’ smiled Rakesh. ‘Management guru Stephen Covey’s bestselling book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People gives a brilliant perspective on how to manage time and increase productivity.’
‘How, bhaiyya?’ asked Rahul.
‘By following his ‘First Things First,’ principle,’ said Rakesh. ‘Identify important activities on your list, things that make a significant difference in the long term and do those first.’
‘Why?’ pondered Rinku.
‘Because important things, by nature, don’t happen instantly,’ said Rakesh. ‘We can’t become great scholars, singers or players overnight. It’s easier to engage in unimportant activities that are visible, popular and provide immediate gratification.’
‘How do we separate what’s important from what’s not, bhaiyya?’ asked Rahul, sheepishly.
‘I suggest you use Covey’s time management matrix,’ said Rakesh. ‘It segregates your time into ‘Urgent’ and ‘Important’ activities, placed in four quadrants. Your “Urgent and Important” activities go into the first quadrant, “Important and Not Urgent” activities into the second, “Urgent and Not Important” activities in the third and “Not Urgent and Not Important” in the fourth. So, where’s your time going?’
‘Mostly on ‘not important’,’ said Rahul. ‘And ‘urgent’. Very little on important activities. What should I do, bhaiyya?’
‘First, minimise your ‘unimportant’ activity time immediately, Rahul,’ said Rakesh. ‘Then reduce your ‘urgent’ list. Gradually, focus on ‘Important’ and ‘Not Urgent’ activities.’
‘I get it, bhaiyya,’ said Rinku. ‘Important work gets done only when we do it first. It’s not about time, it’s about our priorities.’
