Comments on: Putting the “Important but Not Urgent” Tasks Above the “Urgent but Not Important” Tasks

By: Matthew @ LifeOfAnInvestor.com

Matthew @ LifeOfAnInvestor.com — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 16:48:19 +0000

This one is tricky for me. I like to make long lists and then start marking things off, so I tend to do the easy things first. I know that this pretty much goes against all GTD methodologies. It’s just something that I need to work on.

By: Heather

Heather — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 13:03:30 +0000

Hehe, great post Trent. And particularly timely since I sat down at the computer this morning to get some much-needed work done on my masters thesis, and instead find myself poking about on the web. Obviously its a subject I still struggle with daily :)

By: Ken

Ken — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 10:49:30 +0000

Good post! We have to be careful to not let the ‘unimportant’ dominate our lives. We need to spend time doing things that get results every day. It’s about managing time efficiently. I think TV is overrated yet I still watch 2-3 hours a weekend.

By: tarits

tarits — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 07:24:21 +0000

bull’s eye, trent! i’m working now as an assistant for a freelance trainer, as well taking up my masters and being involved in several faith based ministries. i also live alone, so all the household chores won’t get done unless i do them.
juggling all these commitments are fun but tiring. i’ve made it a goal to follow the “big rocks” idea for time manegement (i think u wrote about this a while back): major in the majors and let the little things slide when i have to. i’ve also made a schedule which i TRY to stick to.
about you dream to take up masters: GO FOR IT!

By: Jules

Jules — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 06:58:26 +0000

Hehe, my biggest problem is overcoming the inertia to start something big. I’ve got 3 novel-length ideas that want filling out and several short-stories that want editing, but I just haven’t made a plan for the work yet.

By: Bill

Bill — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 02:26:46 +0000

I think #1 Beth’s power cleaning is a great idea and I’m going give it a try. We are a 4 person family so it will be like a full hour of cleaning is getting done.

By: David Turnbull

David Turnbull — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 00:06:10 +0000

In terms of turning off your email. One thing I’ve been doing the past week is using LeechBlock so I only have access to email between 4pm and 8pm each night.

I’ll be lessening the amount of time I have in the inbox over the next few weeks and months, but so far it’s been an enormous help in getting the important stuff done.

By: karyn

karyn — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 23:18:43 +0000

I try to focus on only certain tasks for each day. Monday is for washing sheets and cleaning the bedrooms, Tuesday is for cleaning bathrooms, etc. For the most part, tasks have to wait for their “assigned” days. I work online but on my off days, I refuse to turn on the computer because I get sucked into emails and “research”. I like Beth’s idea of a 15 minute “rush and clean”.

By: Beth

Beth — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 21:56:06 +0000

One of the biggest things that has helped me overcome the little ‘gotta do this’ stuff like dishes, cleaning, etc. is we have a 15-minute a day rule. After dinner, we frantically clean for 15 minutes while listening to some music (right now, obviously, we’ve switched over to Christmas music). On the weekends, I may take an hour to do the more gritty stuff (stove, fridge). It works great. It makes me feel like when our 15 minutes are over, then its us time. I don’t feel bogged down by thinking of all the things that I “have” to get done before bed.