Urgent and important tasks

 In the process of managing your time, you must separate the “urgent” from the “important.” Urgent tasks are tasks those that are “in your face.” They are determined by external pressures and requirements. They are things that you must do immediately. Most people spend most of their days responding and reacting to urgent tasks, in the form of telephone calls, interruptions, emergencies, and the demands of your boss and your customers.

Important tasks on the other hand are those tasks that can contribute the very most to your long-term future. Some of these tasks may be planning, organizing, studying, researching your customers and setting priorities before you begin.

Then there are tasks that are urgent but not important, such as a ringing telephone, or a coworker who wants to chat. Because these activities take place during the workday, it is easy to confuse them with real work. The difference however is that they produce no results. No matter how many urgent but unimportant activities you engage in, you contribute nothing to your work or your company.

Culled from Goals by Brian Tracy

Abdulkareem, Taoheedah Kehinde