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Hi Friends!

Today, I will be sharing with you on one of the most important topic that will determine whether you will succeed and achieve your goals in a short time or long time. The topic is “Time Management or Activity Management?”

“Sorry, but I don’t have enough time.” “I am very busy.” These are some excuses that I will encounter whenever I am sharing with some of my friends on the importance of building a secondary source of income.

Do you find yourself giving all these excuses on a frequent basis and seeing virtually no progress made towards your dreams and goals in life? Chances are, it is a big “YES!” Do you know why I am aware of this? I have experienced and been through it before.

It can be really frustrating if you are doing a lot of things and not making much progress towards your goals and dreams. That is the reason why you should pay attention to what I am about to share with you. I do not want you to make the same mistakes that I have committed before.

People are always saying “learn how to manage your time so that you do not waste it.” What is truly Time Management? I believe that all of us have an equal 24 hours per day so what is there to manage? The answer is… YOUR ACTIVITIES! I feel that Time Management should be re-phrased as Activity Management.

Afterall, activities are the events that fill up our calendar every week. There must be some reason why people such as Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Donald Trump and Robert Kiyosaki are so successful even though all of them have the same 24 hours that we have. I feel that the difference lies in the activities that they fill their calendar up with.

Activities that are future-based, meaning activities that you are investing time in to achieve your long-term goals. I don’t think they spend a lot of time in front of the television playing with the remote controller like most of us do. 🙂

So how do I manage my activities? You can make use of the Time Management Matrix by classifying your daily activities into 4 categories as shown below:

  URGENT NOT URGENT
IMPORTANT I
  • Crises
  • Pressing emotional problems
  • Projects with datelines to meet
  • Health problems / Illnesses
 II
  • Planning, recreation
  • Exercise and sleep
  • Looking for new opportunities
  • Building relationships with your family and friends
  • Prevention activities

 
NOT IMPORTANT III
  • Interruptions such as phone calls, SMS, and emails that stop you from carrying out activities from the 2 above quadrants
  • Some unnecessary meetings and invitations
  • Other distractions like popular activities and so on
 IV
  • Time wasters like watching TV, gossiping, playing computer games and reading unimportant emails
  • Day dreaming
  • Chatting on the phone
  • Trivia, busy work

 

I have provided some examples in each Quadrant to give you a feel of what these activities are. Do take note that the activities may not be the same for everyone.

Obviously, things in Quadrant I requires your immediate attention. Through effective organization and planning, your main focus should be on getting things in this quadrant completed first. Then you should proceed on to complete things in Quadrant II.

Needless to say, things in Quadrant III and Quadrant IV should take least priority. So in essence, you should focus on the things that are going to allow you to achieve your goals first.

Therefore, the next time before you embark on your daily activities, remember to classify them according to the 4 Quadrants and proceed to tackle the ones in Quadrant I first. Do note that the Time Management Matrix strategy is extracted from Stephen Covey’s “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People“

. This is a very awesome book that I would recommend to anyone who wants to change and improve their lives for the better. 🙂 

 

Sincerely,

Edmund Yeo

 

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