Putting stuff in such categories clarifies the priority and helps me to keep focus. I just use "The Role of Thumb".
I find it fascinating when it turns out that URGENT and IMPORTANT is less urgent and important than I thought and belongs to NOT URGENT and IMPORTANT instead.

Some people keep pushing for final results albeit they cannot bring the relevant material to mind yet. I think that bears the risk in itself of wasting much time. By contrast, I start to plan almost right away. I use that time to immerse myself in the matter as the rush is gone for now, and I can take a deep breath to :

• Write down the observation which sometimes is the hardest part * & its current status (so I don’t have to do the work twice).
• Divide it by Suspected Outcomes (if applicable: alternatives), Analysis & Current Status (perception / concern); and Major Steps which I think should be taken  towards the goal (and by whom).
• Consult those for related discussion who will be affected by it - so they can keep their eyes open and get prepared without being in a hurry.
• Communicate a decision paper – as concise as possible (as nobody needs to know the temperature° just to know it’s hot).
• Take the decision & move on.

If the time is not yet ready for, I'll have to probably park it in my Biz Journal. In this case I create a link between the 2 documents, so I can easily find the IMPORTANT stuff at any later stage.

That way you can already achieve up to 25% efficacy & efficiency improvement on average.

PS :

* We will work that out later.

PPS :

I regard this always as a service to others, too. When I figure out something that needs improvement and nobody listens for whatever reason, I write this down and maintain it at a prominent place.

I often hear months later : "You did tell us this 6 months ago, didn’t you ?" Yes, I did and pull out now what nobody paid attention to before …
Mostly, that’s a great starting point.

 

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