Managing your time efficiently can be quite complicated. I recently gave a presentation about Time Management, which of course, is nothing new. But this time there was a fun twist… I used the movie Star Wars as a method to teach time management! It was interesting and a lot of fun, so I thought I would share some of the galactic moments with you. Here are some tips and guidelines to get Out of Chaos, and as Jedi Master Yoda says to his Padawan, “Control, control. You must learn control.”
Urgency is nothing more than a position on a timeline. The longer you leave something (procrastinate), the more urgent it becomes. This is illustrated on the Eisenhower Matrix below.
Q1 – Urgent and Important
We’ve all been in Quadrant 1, in the middle of the night preparing for a deadline that we’ve known about for months but only start at the 11th hour to beat the clock!
- Princess Leia, Luke Skywalker and Han Solo in that trash compactor scene. It’s pretty urgent and highly important that they get out before they are crushed to death. Crisis mode!
A Master of Time Management will tell you that importance should reflect your goals. The activities and tasks that you do at any given time will get you closer to achieving your goals (outcomes, deliverables).
Q2 – Not Urgent and Important
It is interesting to see that recreation, planning, and prevention are activities in this quadrant. Someone has a heart attack (Q1) and on survival mode starts to eat better, exercise, spend more time with family and friends (Q2). It is not urgent to do so, but it is important in long-term health and well-being. Strategic planning and team meetings reside here too.
- Princess Leia is the subject of both Luke Skywalker’s and Han Solo’s affections. While the vie for her attention is not urgent, it is important.
Without a Master of Time Management to help hone skills, most people operate in Quadrants 3 and 4.
Q3 – Urgent and Not Important
Working on urgent tasks for others can seem like they belong in Q1 but in reality they not important when it comes to achieving your goals. These are interruptions you allow to break your concentration.
- The Empire deployed Stormtroopers to distract The Rebels (Luke, Obi-Wan, Han, Chewie & Droids) from focusing on the really important task of rescuing Princess Leia.
Q4 – Not Urgent and Not Important
These are tasks that keep you ‘busy’ but really do nothing to accomplish achieving your goals.
- This is Darth Vader territory. He is using The Force to throw everything at you to create chaos and lead you down the path to the dark side – to the point of no return.
Ideally you want to work in Quadrant 2 most of the time, working towards your goals and deadlines. You want to avoid working in constant crisis (Q1) so that you have time to prepare for unseen events.
“May The Force Be With You”
Whether it’s managing your email, paper mail or interruptions, use The Force of the 5 D’s of Decision Making.
- Delete the threat. Junk mail, unnecessary papers and information can clutter up your inbox or desktop.
- Delegate what you can to somebody else. You can still manage the results without doing every single task yourself.
- Do it in 2 minutes or less. Don’t leave it and add yet another item to your to-do list.
- Document resources that you don’t have to take action on. Create a personal library of information and resources with a filing structure that makes sense.
- Defer items to your to-do list then prioritize and move them along by scheduling time in your calendar to complete them!
Applying the Wisdom of Yoda
You must unlearn what you have learned.
- While rescuing Princess Leia is your Most Important thing, an army of Stormtroopers is distracting you & demanding your Urgent attention.
- We naturally react to immediate apparent Urgent (‘bing’ you’ve got mail) and delay Important (going to the gym).
- First things first: what is the single most Important (not Urgent) thing you could be doing?
Size matters not.
- It’s not the amount of emails you have in your inbox, it’s about batch processing! Applying the 5 D’s at strategic intervals in your day.
You must feel The Force around you.
- Let the 5 D’s of Decision Making guide you to focus on what is most important.
If you choose the quick and easy path you will become an agent of evil.
- Keeping ‘busy’ in quadrant 4 tasks, does not bring your closer to your goals.
Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny, consume you it will. The dark side clouds everything. Impossible to see the future is.
- The Dark Side is throwing distractions directly at you, keeping you from your goals. Focus on what is Important. Schedule your priorities. Do what matters most.
Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.
- Curb procrastination, avoiding suffering missed opportunities & negative effects on productivity.
Named must your fear be before banish it you can.
- Stop running around with your lightsaber swatting at everything. Make a list of all you must do. Prioritize & take down the big evil forces first!
A Jedi must have the deepest commitment, the most serious mind. Control, control. You must learn control.
- Clear goals, don’t multitask, avoid the dark side. Focus on one task at a time. Spend more time doing less.
Mind what you have learned. Save you it can.
A master of time management you want to become? Out of Chaos help you, it can! Reach out with The Force and contact us through our website. Waiting for you, we are!
Image by Linda Chu. Statue of Yoda at the Star Wars Exhibit. Pacific National Exhibition. September 2017.
