Habits for Growth

 I am a list person. I do not know if there is anything more satisfying than checking off a to-do list. In contrast, I am not sure there are more frustrating days than those where I work all day and do not accomplish or complete anything. It is easy for me to get lost in the to-dos and miss the value of being present or what I have accomplished for good while not attending to 'the list'. In the book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, we study 7 Habits that if cultivated can lead to success. I will not go over all of the habits today, but I will highlight the ones that I need improving on and why.

Habit 3 is 'Put first things first'. This idea is illustrated by a table. In this table there are four categories, 1 and 2 on the top and 3 and 4 on the bottom. The top categories are 1. Important and Urgent and 2. Important and Non-Urgent. The bottom two are 3. Urgent But Not Important and 4. Not Urgent and Not Important.

On an average day, I could find myself buzzing around all of the categories. If you manage your time and resources well, you should be able to minimize and almost obliterate the tasks that fall into category 1 because you have managed the tasks when they were important and before they become urgent.

I think some of the most stressed people I know run around putting out fires all day. They are what the book refers to as problem minded. A more effective perspective is to be opportunity minded and plan your tasks and days preventatively. One way I can avoid being problem minded but be more opportunity minded is by managing expectations. In categories 3 and 4, those tasks might be there because they are placed there by other people, particularly the Not Important But Urgent Activities. Those could be placed there because other people see them as urgent, they have placed their emergencies on my plate due to their lack of planning. It is important for capable and busy people not to take on the jobs of rescuing everyone else.

In order to stay in category 2, the Important and Non-Urgent, we need to keep our personal and professional goals in mind. This will bring focus and help us prioritize our resources. Regardless of how talented we are, we all have a limit to resources, and we need to allocate them in accordance with our responsibilities and goals. 

Scheduling is another key element that helps to stay in category 2. If you know that you have time allocated to manage needs X, Y, and Z, you do not need to worry that you will not get to them. Regardless of the best schedules, unexpected events are going to happen. You will need to be adaptable all while maintaining the balance we talked about previously. Just because the order of events needs to shift, that does not mean that items will get ignored or be allowed to grow to urgent. Developing stronger skills in this habit will help me focus my limited resources where they can have the most impact.

One other habit I would like to develop more is Habit 5 Seek first to understand, then to be understood. I honestly thought that I had mastered this but I recently had an experience where I was shown that I missed the mark. In order to create the Win/Win success spoken of in Habit 4, you need to understand others. If you do not understand them you might be under the impression that you have created a Win/Win situation but you never fully understood their need from the start. You need to create a space where they feel safe to share, so you are getting the honest answers and information that you seek. To create the Win/Win you must invest time in asking questions to gain understanding. Furthermore, you need to listen and learn about the needs you are trying to meet long enough to know you are addressing the root issue. Otherwise, the root problem will remain, spawning other issues.

Regular self-evaluation is a key to improvement and success. As an entrepreneur, you are the engine that keeps the business moving forward. At this point in my progress, I can recognize that habits 2 and 5 are the ones I need to be working on and refining. This will change to other areas as time and experiences come. It is important to be in a state of humility to recognize the areas where we need improvement. I recommend taking time to evaluate mistakes and progress to see what lessons can be learned from them and where we can improve. Chances are, you will be able to trace them back to one of the 7 habits.