The urgency trap
Do you, like myself, always find yourself doing alot? Always caught up in a cue of activities?
Always feeling like 24 hours is little time to accomplish all that you have to do?
With an endless loop of to-do lists that leaves you gasping for air at the end of the day?
Maybe you've thought to yourself that you've tremendously filled your plate with more than you can stomach.
So you're caught up with a sense of urgency while everything around you begs for attention.
You have tried to multitask but sooner or later, you realize that you're giving the bare minimum to one of the tasks.
You are not alone. Infact, add me to that list. And another friend in mind. And maybe three more of those.
In one of my reading escapades, I landed on the 5 ball theory that states,
"Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling some five balls in the air. You name them - work, family, health, friends and spirit - and you're keeping all of these in the air. You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. But the other four balls - family, health, friends and spirit - are made of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, damaged or even shattered."
Now, depending on one's priorities and value system, the rubber balls and glass balls may differ, but the principle remains the same.
First, you need to identify what your rubber balls are, and what your glass balls are.
Rubber balls are basically the things/aspects of your life that if push came to shove, you’d without much thought, let them go. That’s because you can always get back to it [them] at a certain point X and still find your footing.
Glass balls however, if left out of focus, the story will be different. That’s because glass once shattered, cannot be replaced with another, at least not one identical to the previous one.
I have found that the Eisenhower Decision Matrix can somewhat help with both identifying our rubber balls and glass balls, while also realigning our priorities.
By this point, you have already identified what’s important, what can wait, and what you should let go of.
Q1 — DO
The activities that lie in Q1 are important and urgent. This means that they are not only glass balls in your ladder of priorities, but they are equally urgent. You have to do them.
Imagine your house was on fire, because it is important and urgent in the moment, you will have to do something about it at that time.
If you have an upcoming call as a follow up interview for a grant you applied for, it is important [because you took the time to submit your application] and it is urgent [because this might be your chance to showcase your work for the grant acceptance].
These are usually tasks with deadlines or consequences for not accomplishing them.
So whether it is career growth, family, you name it. If it is important and urgent, you got to make the time for it now.
Q2 — SCHEDULE
The activities in Q2 are termed as important, but not urgent. They can wait, but not for too long — so you schedule them within your routine.
Planning for your time in terms of days, weeks and even months. That way, you know when you have to do a particular task.
For example, scheduling some form of exercise in your daily routine might not be urgent, but it is important, especially in the long run.
These activities don’t have clear deadlines or consequences but incorporating them in your schedules can guarantee success.
When scheduled, you know that there’s designated time for what matters to you. That way, you are able to cumulatively create healthy habits that align with your value system and priorities.
Q3 — DELEGATE
The activities in Q3 are termed as urgent but not important.
These are activities that need immediate attention but it might not necessarily be your attention, so you can delegate.
If you are the Chief Executive for a multi — national, you will have to schedule calls and meetings with stakeholders, send emails and work on some paperwork.
These are all important but they are not all that your work requires of you. So, you hire an executive assistant to help with the administrative work while you handle the more technical aspects of your job.
You delegate what you don’t have to do so that you focus on what you actually need to do.
Q4 — ELIMINATE
The activities in Q4 are termed as not urgent and not important. So whether you do them or don’t, it doesn’t matter because they don’t help you achieve your goals.
While most of the activities in this area can help you relax, take a break and just chill, they are trivial and may not help you achieve your goals.
Like scrolling through tiktok during your productive hours, watching TV all day you neglect your other tasks.
These activities are distractions and most times serve as time wasters, so eliminate them.
Not everything is a priority. Give your time, energy and resources to tasks and things that help you achieve your goals.
Know your glass balls and handle them with caution ⚠️, identify your rubber balls and you won’t have to give your time to everything.
