Forget Your Past, You Don't Get a Mulligan.

Steven Covey suggests four quadrants in which we typically work.

• Important and urgent
• Important but not urgent
• Not Important but urgent
• Not Important and not urgent

He suggests you first accomplish all tasks in the first quadrant (Important and due soon). Once you've finished everything there, you should move into the second quadrant so that you can accomplish important things before they become urgent.

Using this process, you might not accomplish the "not important" things... which is okay since they're not important.

It wouldn't be a bad idea to consider these quadrants not just in relation to a to-do list, but also as a way to categorize our brain time (the stuff we think about). Here's what I mean:

• thinking about life stuff that is important and urgent = pressure
• thinking about life stuff that is important and not urgent = dreaming
• thinking about life stuff that is not important but urgent = stress
• thinking about life stuff that is not important and not urgent = wasted time

But here's one other thought. Too often we spend our time in two completely different quadrants that Covey never talked about:

• thinking about life stuff that is important... and past
• thinking about life stuff that is not important... and past

It's not a bad idea to have memories. Memories are nice and fun and useful... but too much time with memories can be dangerous and unhealthy. If it is hurtful to spend all your time stressing about the urgency of the day that is not really important, it is far more harmful to spend your time thinking about the mistakes you made yesterday.

Basically, I'm saying this:

1. Spend occasional time remembering past victories
2. Learn from past defeats, remember the lesson and forget the defeat
3. Spend a little time thinking about things that aren't important
4. Spend most of your time thinking about the important things in your future

50 Steps To Becoming A Ninja!

I borrowed this list from the time-management ninja. (that's right, he's a ninja!) It's a pretty good list of the things about which we tend to procrastinate. I'm not going to get them all done today. But if I put forth the effort, I could probably get them all done by maybe the end of the month? Which of the items on this list do you need to do TODAY?

• Doing the #1 task on your todo list.
• Making that phone call.
• Getting the car maintenance done.
• Fixing something that is out-of-order.
• Going to the doctor.
• Getting enough sleep.
• Pursuing your dreams.
• Reading a book.
• Spending time with someone you care about.
• Going for a walk.
• Going to see the person you need to talk to.
• Exercising.
• Telling the truth.
• Confronting something from your past.
• Doing something for your future.
• Saving money.
• Learning something new.
• Answering that email.
• Getting your degree.
• Working on your resume.
• Finding a new job.
• Doing something that you are passionate about.
• Putting yourself first.
• Getting a life… yours.
• Facing a fear.
• Starting your hobby.
• Losing weight.
• Taking time off from work.
• Helping someone who needs it.
• Appreciating your family.
• Setting goals for yourself.
• Testing and stretching your limits.
• Eating a healthy meal.
• Enjoying some quiet time.
• Traveling someplace you have never been.
• Doing something you have never done.
• Talking to someone you don’t know, but want to.
• Starting a new habit.
• Stopping a bad habit.
• Cleaning up your desk.
• Donating something to charity.
• Writing in your journal.
• Going to see a friend.
• Emptying the garage.
• Talking the dog for a walk.
• Playing with your kids.
• Taking your spouse on a date.
• Doing something on your bucket list.
• Standing up for yourself.
• Telling someone you love them.