Prioritize yourself

As I have finished discovering myself. Now is the time to give me importance. Prioritize means to add gravity to my own existence. I have been a big fan of Stephen Covey, and as I read his book First Things First, it adds much meaning to prioritizing oneself. 

He began with a conversation with his daughter, who has recently given birth to her third child. She says that she was so frustrated because this baby is taking all her time, and she cannot do things that only she can do (her projects, her contributions, and other household jobs). 

Her father said, " Just relax. “ Relax and enjoy the nature of this new experience. Let this infant feel your joy in the role of mother. No one else can love and nurture that child the way you can. All other interests pale in comparison for now.”

When I read this, it just opened my eyes to multitudes of things that were running in my head. The author mentioned one more line that caught my attention most. “Don’t even keep a schedule. Forget your calendar. Stop using your planning tools if they only induce guilt. This baby is the first thing in your life right now. Just enjoy the baby and don’t worry. Be governed by your internal compass, not by some clock on the wall." 

I was carried back to those days when I left my first job and wanted to secure another for my survival. I did not get the job immediately. Those two years, I was free, and I invested it in reflecting on what had happened and what I could have done to make it better. When this hour of learning finished, I secured a job and was doing pretty well. Then I enrolled in my master's program, but it did not succeed. My age was passing, and I was not able to get a seat in the master's program. This was frustrating. It became later and later, and I got stuck in fake universities. Life seemed totally a waste. Then I shifted my focus to fixing myself in a good job since this is not working. Nothing seemed to work. During this time, I had to leave my city, and as I moved from my city, avenues opened, and I landed among some of the best wise men. Yes, it is quite late, but all these failed years of efforts have made me patient and wise in my subject. I could see this now and said to myself, 'Thank God, I didn't try to force this to happen my way. It would have been a big blunder. ' In his book, the author talked about importance paradigm. The slogan first things first calls for knowing and doing what is important rather than simply attending to things that are urgent. His questions made me understand the concept of urgent and important. 

1. What is the one activity that you know if you did superbly well and consistently would have                 significant positive results in your personal life?

2. What is the one activity that you know if you did superbly well and consistently would have                 significant positive results in your professional or work life?

3. If you know these things would make such a significant difference, why are you not doing them         now?

When I tried to answer this, I realized what mistakes I am making in not prioritizing myself. Further looking in the time management matrix, he guides us to differentiate between urgent and important. What is urgent is important also. Then how to differentiate? Ask this question

A) Is the urgent activity contributing towards an important objective? 

TIME MANAGEMENT MATRIX

	URGENT	NOT URGENT
IMPORTANT	QUADRANT I	QUADRANT II - QUADRANT OF QUALITY-—QUADRANT OF PERSONAL LEADERSHIP
NOT IMPORTANT	QUADRANT III—-QUADRANT OF DECEPTION	QUADRANT IV - QUARDANT OF WASTE

We can be in any quadrant. Some people are in quadrant I because of their profession, e.g., firefighters, doctors, nurses, etc. People in quadrant II are in the best zone because it increases our capacity to do. They indulge in these activities, which I will be covering one by one in each of my posts. 

1. Improving communication with people

2. Better preparation

3. Better planning and organizing

4. Taking better care of self

5. Seizing new opportunities

6. Personal development

7. Empowerment

Now, after understanding the concept of importance, I move on to urgency addiction to break it and be able to do first things first. 

A- https://water-1droplet.blogspot.com/2025/04/acceptance-of-self.html?zx=af3c2e13bf8aa3d6

B- https://water-1droplet.blogspot.com/2025/04/boundaries-to-set.html

C- https://water-1droplet.blogspot.com/2025/04/compassion-on-yourself.html

D- https://water-1droplet.blogspot.com/2025/04/discovering-oneself.html

E

F- https://water-1droplet.blogspot.com/2025/04/forgiving-yourself.html

G- https://water-1droplet.blogspot.com/2025/04/grains-of-gratitude.html

H- https://water-1droplet.blogspot.com/2025/04/human-experiences-common-to-all.html

I

J

K- https://water-1droplet.blogspot.com/2025/04/kindness-to-self.html

L- https://water-1droplet.blogspot.com/2025/04/l-factor.html

M- https://water-1droplet.blogspot.com/2025/04/mindfulness-for-self-compassion.html

N- https://water-1droplet.blogspot.com/2025/04/no-that-needs-your-attention.html

O- https://water-1droplet.blogspot.com/2025/04/organize-importants-over-urgent.html

P- https://water-1droplet.blogspot.com/2025/04/prioritize-yourself.html

Q- https://water-1droplet.blogspot.com/2025/04/qualm-effect.html 

R

S

T

U- https://water-1droplet.blogspot.com/2025/04/urgency-addiction.html

V

W- https://water-1droplet.blogspot.com/2025/04/wellness-most-awaited-self-care.html 

X- https://water-1droplet.blogspot.com/2025/04/x-factor-reveal.html

Y- https://water-1droplet.blogspot.com/2025/04/talking-to-yourself.html

Z- https://water-1droplet.blogspot.com/2025/04/zaniness-of-you-to-embrace.html

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