Urgent vs. Important

As a teenager attending Dixie High School in St. George, UT, I played trombone in the marching band. A few times each year, we would march in parades that started going east on Main Street and later turned and came back west on Tabernacle Street. Our band director was a stickler for dressing appropriately. We wore the band uniforms and each of us had to buy our own white sneakers. 

One time when we were marching in a homecoming parade, trombones leading the band, I looked down and saw that the shoelace on my right shoe had come untied. The shoe was becoming looser on my foot. I knew that at some point I would need to stop, step out of line, and tie the shoelace. Otherwise, I would lose the shoe. 

As we marched along, I began thinking about when and where might be a good place to step out. I watched for places where fewer spectators were along the route. I also wanted to choose a time when we were not playing a tune or doing a formation or maneuver. 

It took my attention away from doing my job as a member of the marching band. It was difficult to concentrate on marching and also plan where to stop. 

Since then, I have used this dilemma as a metaphor. When I have something important that needs to be done, yet there hasn’t been a convenient time to do it, it’s always there at the back of my mind. “It feels like my shoelace is untied.” 

For a perfectionist, this creates angst. I have a checklist mentality and not being able to check everything off feels unsettling. It also messes with my ability to distinguish between what is urgent and what is important. 

In a 1954 speech, President Dwight D. Eisenhower said, “I have two kinds of problems, the urgent and the important. The urgent are not important, and the important are never urgent.” 

The Eisenhower Matrix, also known as the Urgent-Important Matrix, is a time management and decision-making method to help effectively prioritize tasks. The framework categorizes your tasks into four quadrants based on their urgency and importance:

I. Important and urgent
Tasks that have high importance and need immediate attention.
• Answer urgent emails
• Medical emergencies
• Projects with deadlines
• Crises and catastrophes
                       
II. Important, but not urgent
Tasks that don’t have a deadline but move you closer to your goals.
• Long-term planning
• Personal improvement
• Relationship building
• Values clarification
                       
III. Not important, but urgent
Tasks that need to get done but don’t need your expertise. 
• Busy work
• Meal prep
• Interruptions
• Plan staff picnic
                       
IV. Not important and not urgent
Tasks that don’t add value and can distract you from your goals. 
• Binge on social media
• Video games
• Infuriating political news
• Sort your junk mail

Stephen R. Covey, popularized the Eisenhower Matrix, showing how it can help in achieving personal and professional effectiveness. He stressed that the key to time management isn’t about doing more, but rather deciding where your time is best spent.

How might a perfectionist struggle with approaching tasks in these four quadrants? 

Quadrant I: Perfectionists may struggle with tasks in this quadrant because the urgency can increase their fear of making mistakes. They might spend a lot of time perfecting details, which can lead to stress and burnout.

Quadrant II: Perfectionists may procrastinate on starting these tasks due to the desire to perform them flawlessly.

Quadrant III: Perfectionists may find it difficult to delegate or ignore tasks in this quadrant, even though they do not contribute significantly to long-term goals. They might feel compelled to handle these tasks personally to ensure they are done correctly.

Quadrant IV: Perfectionists might get caught up in these tasks as a form of procrastination or because they feel guilty about leaving any task undone.

By becoming aware of these potential pitfalls, I can hopefully avoid them and put my efforts toward becoming more effective.