Sense of Urgency
Time is the most valuable asset, and it also is in the shortest supply.
Jim Rohn, one of the pioneers of personal development once said:
“Time is our most valuable asset, yet we tend to waste it, kill it and spend it rather than invest it.”
Urgency is a time-based concept that pushes us to act quickly because otherwise, we might miss out on an opportunity.
But why is it important? Exactly that, we might miss out on a moment, if the time window passes.
There are so many different kinds of urgency.
- Timeline Urgency
- Think of due dates and deadlines. How am I going to be able to film before the weather changes?
- Financial Urgency
- Rent is due in on the 1st, but there’s not enough cash in the bank.
- Age Urgency
- Everyone experiences this as we grow older. From having kids, or growing out of your sports career.
- Supply Urgency
- When there just isn’t enough for the current demand, like the current housing market.
Urgency only exists in the current moment, and obsessively thinking about the pressure of the time crunch, can create procrastination.
There are two ways that may help in tackling procrastination:
- Setting reminders
- Envisioning your future self.
I also like to prioritize, and being in nature really helps me with this. I mean, when you’re living out of your car next to a river, it’s easy to cut out the stuff that doesn’t matter.
Dwight D. Eisenhower — five-star general during World War II and 34th president of the United States- created a matrix if that’s more of your thing.
The Eisenhower Matrix is a tool to help consider the long-term outcomes of your daily tasks and how to focus on what will make you most effective, not just productive.
- Urgent & Important
- Completed immediately
- Not Urgent & Important
- Scheduled on your calendar
- Urgent & Unimportant
- Delegated to someone else
- Not Urgent & Unimportant
- Deleted
Urgency doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Use these four steps to live with more urgency from a positive aspect.
- Build a Vision for the future– set goals
- Break the goals into manageable parts– down to a day-to-day basis
- Find Reasons to Move Forward- put meaning behind your actions
- Evaluate your actions- give yourself praise and constructive criticism