According to this theory, the people who manage their time best are those who spend the most time in Quadrant 2 (important but not urgent matters). Examples of such important but not urgent things are:<\/p>\n
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exercising \u2014 it is not urgent, but if done regularly, it prevents illness, which immediately throws us into the quadrant of urgent and important matters (and will subsequently require far more energy and resources to deal with than the \u201cprevention\u201d of health);<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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communicating with colleagues \u2014 delegating authority, training collaborators, receiving feedback from them, building trust (all of this helps them, in the long run, to do their work more effectively and in less time);<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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thinking strategically and long-term \u2014 in other words, optimizing work processes;<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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learning and self-development \u2014 not only because innovations are a competitive advantage, but also because this makes them feel more alive, more fulfilled, and more whole (the true criteria for success in life).<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Although at first glance this seems to be about time management in the workplace, Quadrant 2 actually encompasses everything in a person\u2019s life \u2014 both professional and personal. Stephen Covey, who has consulted a large number of CEOs of large corporations, writes that although they had managed to climb to the top of the ladder in their professional careers, at the same time they had failed marriages, alienated relationships with their families, poor health, and no personal life. This, he says, does not look like great success. He adds that when a person is climbing the ladder of success, even if they are climbing very fast, if the ladder is not placed against the right wall, they will not reach the place they desire. His warning to people interested in managing their time is that before they begin climbing the ladder of success, they should check what success means to them. In short, what are the truly important things for them.<\/p>\n
For this purpose, it is helpful to imagine how one would like the end of one\u2019s life to look (or, as Covey writes, to imagine what other people would say about them on the day of their funeral). The irony in this case is that death and time are very closely connected. In English, a final deadline is called a \u201cdeadline,\u201d and since time measures the length of our lives, to manage time means to make decisions about how to manage our lives. It is precisely our death that is our true deadline, and therefore only it can tell us what the truly important things are.<\/p>\n
The search for answers to these important things, as well as finding time for them, are, in the language of organizational psychology, activities in Quadrant 2.<\/p>\n
And here comes another important aspect of time management \u2014 good time management is based on the ability to say \u201cno.\u201d People who have difficulty saying \u201cno\u201d also have problems with time management. Sooner or later they realize that when they say \u201cyes\u201d to other people\u2019s expectations of them, at the same time they are saying \u201cno\u201d to their most important inner needs, if these are different from the expectations of others.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you feel that you do not have enough time, what you lack is not time, but space. You have lost your space to be who you are, what you are, and who you are here and now. When you are pressured and there is no time left, it is time to make space for the spirit\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n
Martin Luther, the leader of the Reformation, understood this very well. He used to say that he prayed for one hour every morning, but on days when he knew he would be \u2018buried in work,\u2019 he spent an additional hour in the morning \u2018on his knees.\u2019 For the logical mind, this does not make much sense. On a day when he needed more time to deal with additional work, he spent twice as much time in prayer. Most people tend to do exactly the opposite. For them, the time spent in spiritual reflection decreases in proportion to the demands of the outer world.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n
Michael Tamura, You Are the Answer, pp. 44\u201345<\/em><\/p>\n
It becomes clear that Quadrant 2 \u2014 important but not urgent matters \u2014 is about opening space in our lives, in which there is more room for the soul and care for it. The challenge here is to unite two seemingly incompatible things \u2014 the limitations of time (which cause us stress) and the boundlessness of the soul (which connects us with eternity). We unite these two by making decisions about how to manage our time (our lives) starting from the most important priority \u2014 care for that which does not die.<\/p>\n
Another way to say the same thing is: when you are under pressure and have no time left, it is time to make space for the spirit\u2026<\/p>\n
Kameliya Hadzhiyska<\/p>\n
\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nNote: The quotations are a direct translation from Bulgarian.<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
At one period in my work, I conducted corporate trainings on the topic of stress management. Later, this topic evolved and became \u201ctime and stress management.\u201d The lack of time itself was one of the main sources of stress, and that is why it had to be given special attention. That is how I became […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":139860,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[646],"tags":[653,719,679],"class_list":["post-151781","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-spiritual-intelligence","tag-how-changes-happen","tag-michael-tamura","tag-success-in-life"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t