To Do Lists, Quad Charts, and Calendars

In case you live by lists, this article challenges you to go a little deeper. I'm applying my own ideas to the concept introduced by Dr. Stephen R. Covey's The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.

Hope these ideas help you as much as they helped me to get my ducks in a row...

To Do Lists, Quad Charts, and Calendars

STEP ONE: Create Your To Do List.

The objective is to figure out who you are and who you choose to be, and then to take no-kidding steps in that direction. It starts with a To Do List, but doesn't end there.

At the start of every week (you have the power to decide which day of the week that is), create your To Do List. Just jot down the stuff you have reason to believe you need to do this week. Don't think. Write.

When you've captured in list form everything you can think of for this week, put down the pen and paper, breathe, and congratulate yourself on a fine To Do List.

A lot of us live by To Do Lists. But these lists are only the first step. They don't guide you to you. They help you manage accomplishments, but do so outside of the context of why.

In checking off To Do List items, you might feel satisfaction, but did your actions align with your goals and dreams? Did you get closer to your ideal you? If not, you've checked off a box. Useful. But not impactful. Not effective.

But that's okay. The To Do List is just step one.

STEP TWO: Create Your Quad.

On a clean sheet of paper, draw a large square. Doesn’t have to be pretty. (I create a template in PowerPoint. Templates are our friends.)

Next, draw lines to create four quadrants: a line to dissect the middle and a line to dissect the center. Voici! You have created four squares, also known as “quads” (short for quadrants).

Now, add titles to your rows and columns as shown below: Urgent, Important, Not Urgent, Not Important.

Read the blocks below--good info--but do not copy all that text. We're borrowing the format, not the text.

Now, bring your comprehensive To Do List for the week over to your new blank quad. It's time to marry these two. Place each To Do activity into its applicable quad.

Your To Do List likely includes stuff you "need to do" because someone with authority over you said so. There's stuff you want to do because it helps you become you. Stuff you do because it came your way. Stuff that's fun, relaxing, and or places zero demands on your overtaxed mind and body.

Only you know, and more importantly, only you decide which To Do List item goes into which quad: 1, 2, 3, or 4. But you need to be honest about it. Lying to yourself helps no one.

So, what are the quads all about?

Covey's Quadrant 1: Urgent-Important

I call this the “Fire Fighter” quad.

These are the most pressing and important To Do tasks you’re expected to accomplish this week. I reiterate: Important to you.

These To Do list items are 1) important to you and 2) have to be addressed by you and 3) have to be addressed this week--now--because timing matters. Feeding your pets, your kids, yourself, for instance. Can't put that off to another week and yep, you're the stuckee.

This quad is an attention junkie. These activities will take every ounce you give, and then demand more. The trick is not letting these activities overtake your life.

Covey's Quadrant 2: Not Urgent-Important

I call this the “Radiant You” quad.

These are the important but non-crisis-tempo activities that matter to you. These To Do's aren’t going to knock down your door because they don’t appear to be urgent. They wait patiently.

But guess what? These activities are the ones that bring you closer to you.

Radiant You activities often and easily get overtaken by tasks from the other three quads. If you allow it, you'll end up loosing yourself.

So push back. Stand up for your own best interests. This quad is where the magic happens.

Covey's Quadrant 3: Urgent-Not Important

I call this the “Whack-a-Mole” quad.

Ugh. This quad! Not our friend. These activities are irrelevant nuisance tasks that crop up. Tasks someone else decided are important.

Someone tags you and "you're it.” And you don’t push back. That needs to change.

If it’s not important to you, why are you bothering with it? Delegate. Ignore it. Let it go. By definition, it's unimportant. Don't get pulled in. Don’t allow someone else’s crisis become your time vampire.

Just be sure it's truly in quad 3. If, for example, keeping your job matters to you, that work might just align to a quad other than good old number three. Just saying.

Covey's Quadrant 4: Not Urgent-Not Important

I call this one the “Lazy Days” quad.

Mental, physical, spiritual, and or emotion breaks are crucial. As is sleeping.

I strongly recommend you populate the Lazy Days quad every week with To Do's for your consideration.

But be cautious: What matters for this quad is the percentage of time spent here. Too much risks neglecting Radiant You or Fire Fighter activities.

It's all about balance.

STEP THREE: From Quad to Calendar.

So, you've created a To Do List for this week, and you've assigned all those pesky To Do's to the four quads. Now what?

It's time to move some--not all--of the activities from the quads to your calendar for the week. Your list is likely way too long for a single week. Time to make some cuts.

It makes all the difference which quad you start with.

Always start by scheduling time for Radiant You activities.

Say, for instance, you want to complete a college degree so you can go after and then crush your ideal career. You've included on your To Do List, "Get degree." Then, in Radiant You, you wrote down two steps to knock out this week for this task. Great. Now, carry those items to your calendar.

Maybe calling the Registrar's Office is best accomplished Tuesday morning. Maybe mailing your first payment is best scheduled for Wednesday, but after the mail has been collected for the day. You know what works best for you. Add it to your calendar. Lock it in.

Guess what you just did? You prioritized yourself in your life. You've just scheduled first and foremost those activities that help you become the you of your dreams. Yay you!

Second is Fire Fighter or Lazy Days... Depending on Your Week

Consider the remaining two quads - Fire Fighter and Lazy Days.

Under most circumstances, Fire Fighter To Do's need to be scheduled immediately after you've carved space for Radiant You. “Urgent and important” work needs to be accomplished (such as paying bills, feeding people and pets, watering plants, taking care of a major landscape issue) but not at the expense of Radiant You.

So, get to it. Move over To Do's from the quad to your calendar. Schedule each activity in a slot that works best. You might find that Fire Fighter and Radiant You activities need to be juggled across the course of the week. All good. Do what you need to. You're an adult. Time for adulting. But do not erase your Radiant You To Do's. Or, if your activities must slip, make certain it's not to the right by more than two weeks. If it is, take a hard look at the fires and figure out why they're so difficult to put out.

Right behind Fire Fighter is Lazy Days.

You deserve time to relax and or rejuvenate (say, read for pleasure, hug a dog, watch crime dramas, play videos). As with Radiant You and Fire Fighter, identify which Lazy Days To Do's need to happen this week. Add them to your schedule wherever they fit. Awesome!

As you continue to follow this approach you'll find that the percentages of time spent in each of the viable quads (all quads except Whack-a-Mole) will change week to week. That’s life. All good. Roll with it. But pay attention.

Some weeks demand more Fire Fighter. Some weeks all you can do is Lazy Days. That’s how it goes. But living in Fire Fighter or living in Lazy Days will cause you to burn out or to lose all momentum. That’s not driving you toward your best.

Sometimes what you lock-in for Radiant You needs to move to Sunday when you penned it in for Tuesday. That’s okay. It’s all good. Just pay attention. Make sure you move it--not erase it.

Prioritize yourself. No one else will.

So, with some Covey knowledge in the tank, we’re ready to apply my three rules.

Last is Whack-a-Mole.

I'll keep it simple. Do NOT bring any of these activities over to your schedule. These To Do items need to hit your cutting room floor.

Maybe you heard that landscaping your side yard is your neighbor’s highest priority. Does the work to fall into Fire Fighter, Radiant You, or Lazy Days? If none of those quads, it falls into Whack-a-Mole.

It’s not your priority. And it's not important to you. Ignore it.

With practice, you’ll skip this quad altogether. You’ll learn to recognize what just doesn’t rate.

HOWEVER... Always be sure everything you've marked Whack-a-Mole really is. If your neighbor wants you to landscape your yard because water is pouring into his house because of drainage issues with your property, that's Fire Fighter -- urgent AND important. Schedule that.

See how getting items into the right quad is key?!

Now, you've created and managed To Do lists, you've figured out how important and or urgent the activities are for this week, and you've prioritized when they work in your calendar. And best of all, you've built in time for yourself. Boom.

Well done, you!