1 - Doe wat belangrijk is: reageer niet op wat dringend is.
Urgente zaken zijn
zelden belangrijk en belangrijke zaken zelden urgent, zei Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Om zijn woorden kracht bij te zetten ontwikkelde hij de prioriteitenmatrix.
De prioriteitenmatrix
van Eisenhower bestaat uit vier kwadranten die ontstaan door
twee tegenstellingen tegenover elkaar te zetten: belangrijk vs. onbelangrijk en
dringend vs. niet dringend.
Je krijgt dan de
volgende matrix:
Dringend
|
Niet dringend
|
|
Belangrijk
|
1
|
2
|
Onbelangrijk
|
3
|
4
|
2 - Ga voor buitengewoon: neem geen genoegen met gewoon.
Dat betekent dat je altijd streeft naar resultaten die positief zijn voor jou en voor je
omgeving. Dat betekent dus dat je geen genoegen neemt met compromissen of met
halfslachtige oplossingen of resultaten.
3 - Plan de Big Rocks: ga geen kiezeltjes tellen.
Stel de Big Rock - vraag: "Wat zijn de één of twee meest belangrijkste dingen die ik deze week kan doen in deze rol?"
Put first things first, to focus on the most important priorities of our lives.
In the middle of a seminar on time management, recalls Covey in his book First Things
First, the lecturer said, "Okay, it's time for a quiz." Reaching under the table, he pulled
out a wide mouthed gallon jar and set it on the table next to a platter covered with fistsized
rocks. "How many of these rocks do you think we can get in the jar?" he asked the
audience.
After the students made their guesses, the seminar leader said, "Okay, let's find out." He
put one rock in the jar, then another, then another-until no more rocks would fit. Then he
asked, "Is the jar full?"
Everybody could see that not one more of the rocks would fit, so they said, "Yes."
"Not so fast," he cautioned. From under the table he lifted out a bucket of gravel, dumped
it in the jar, and shook it. The gravel slid into all the little spaces left by the big rocks.
Grinning, the seminar leader asked once more, "Is the jar full?"
A little wiser by now, the students responded, "Probably not."
"Good," the teacher said. Then he reached under the table to bring up a bucket of sand.
He started dumping the sand in the jar. While the students watched, the sand filled in the
little spaces left by the rocks and gravel. Once more he looked at the class and said,
"Now, is the jar full?"
"No," everyone shouted back.
"Good!" said the seminar leader, who then grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it
into the jar. He got something like a quart of water into that jar before he said, "Ladies
and gentlemen, the jar is now full. Can anybody tell me the lesson you can learn from
this? What's my point?"
An eager participant spoke up: "Well, there are gaps in your schedule. And if you really
work at it, you can always fit more into your life."
"No," the leader said. "That's not the point. The point is this: if I hadn't put those big
rocks in first, I would never have gotten them in."
In both our business and personal lives, we have big rocks, gravel, sand and water. The
natural tendency seems to favor the latter three elements, leaving little space for the big
rocks. In an effort to respond to the urgent, the important is sometimes set aside.
What are the 'big rocks' in your life? A large project? Spending time with your family?
Your health? Your finances? Your faith? Your personal development? Your dreams?
Make a list of your big rocks. Then make a plan to ensure that your big rocks are put first.
Block out the time in your schedule for those activities. Amazingly, the other stuff still
gets done.
Periodically reflect on how you're doing. Are you putting your big rocks first, or does
gravel, sand and water dominate your life? If the big rocks aren't getting in, what will
have to happen so that they do?
When you're planning your month, your week or your day, and even when you're making
specific decisions during the day, refer back to your list of big rocks. Then, put those in
your jar first.
4 - Beheers je technologie: laat die jou niet beheersen.
Pieptoon! Ring! Buzz! Ding! Onze aandacht wordt continu aanvallen. De gemiddelde kantoor werknemer krijgt slechts drie minuten van werktijd voordat hij weer wordt onderbroken. Benutten uw technologie op een manier die versnelt om buitengewone resultaten te bereiken.
5 - Versterk je vitaliteit: voorkom een burn-out.
De hedendaagse werkomgeving heeft een hoge vermoeiend werkdruk en mensen raken in een alarmerend tempo uitgeput. Vernieuw consequent uw energiebronnen, zodat u kunt blijven genieten van de grote dingen in uw leven.
