Habit 3 - Put First Things First

Will And Won't Power

By Ahmed Warsame

READ THIS FIRST

Welcome to one of the hardest habits of them all! Don't fret, it's not the end of the world. You just have to push a little harder and put first things first. How do you do it? Simple. You have to prioritize and seperate the important things from the less important. Get an agenda and write the things you have to do each day in it. It will help you if you ever forget something. But don't just put every little, tiny chore you have to do in there. Seperate the important events from the little things that use up your time in the day. This way, you know what must get done and you won't get lazy. Another important part to this is to remember who you are and not cave in to peer pressure. That will throw you off your game. Just because your friends want to go see a movie doesn't mean you have to. It's not hard to figure out what you need to do to put first things first. Just figure out which Time Quadrant you're in. How? Read on and I'll let you know. >>>

Quadrant 1: The Procrastinator

Q1 is the headache quadrant. It's where you have such urgent and important things to do that you're cramming it all into the last few moments you have. For example, you leave your homework until the last night and cram it all in at the last minute. It may feel like you've done a good job, but chances are you haven't. It's called procrastinating, and we all do it. It just shouldn't be done all the time. That throws us off our plans and can really bring us down. That just causes a BIG bad withdrawal from your PBA. So, try not no procrastinate or you may end up with:

-stress

-anxiety

-lousy performance

Quadrant 2: The Prioritizer

This is the quadrant you want to be in. It's the place where you find time for the important things first, and still have time left over for yourself. Here, you don't cave into peer pressure, know your limits, and can organize yourself all while not getting burnt out. Stress is kept on the bottom of your worries and the respect you gain from others is worth it.

This quadrant will also puts a good chunk of positive in your PBA. If you prioritize and live in Q2 then you will:

-have control of your life

-have balance

-give your best performance

Quadrant 3: The Yes-Man

Q3 is the quadrant of unimportant things. It's where you do all of your small time consuming things that shouldn't be at the top of your list. Do you really need to talk on the phone for 4 hours? Is that computer game going somewhere? Can't you just turn down hanging out for one night? It's not that hard. Say no for once, and stop being a yes-man/woman. Just use that self-confidence you've gained from your PBA and push the little things aside for a while. They will always be there. The important things might not. Stick to your plan and put your top priorities first. The effects of Q3 may be:

-always being a "people pleaser"

-no discipline

-feeling used or worthless (hint: this is a major withdrawal from the PBA!)

Quadrant 4: The Slacker

This is the quadrant of loafing about, not doing anything. It's a place where the only important thing is having nothing important to do. This is unhealthy, and useless. Sitting around doing nothing makes people have less respect for you. That's never a good thing. Who wants to hire a slacker? Who wants to be friends with someone who doesn't want to do anything but sit in a chair and sleep? No one. If you're in this category get out quick. It could me disaster for your PBA. It's not hard to do, but do it soon. If not, it could lead to:

-guilt

-lack of responsibility

-flakiness

So, there you have it. The four Time Quadrants. Figure out which one you're in and do what you can to get in Q2. If you're already in Q2, keep up the good work. And remember, put first things first!