Five steps out of urgency

Colleagues,

I spent a lot of time in schools working with educators last week. The onset of state testing adds one more layer of urgency onto a year that has already been phrenetic.
 
I feel the same sense of urgency from many of my non-school colleagues, as well as most organizations that are influenced by the seasons.
 
When things get crazier, we tend to be even more driven by the urgent things, meaning we spend even less time in quadrant 2. 
 
As you find yourself moving from one thing to the other, try using this 5-step method:

1. Can I let it go?  Is it really quadrant 1 (urgent and important) or is it actually quadrant 3 (urgent)?
2. Can I give it back? If it isn’t your job, can you give it back to the person who put it on you?
3. Can I give it away? Is there someone else who could do it just as well (or maybe even better)?
4. Can I give it a C? Is it okay to do the absolute minimum and just MVP it?
5. Can I bounce it? Can you do a minimal piece and then send it to someone else?

 
Now may be the hardest time to pause and ask these questions, but it may also be the most important time.
 
Do good and be well,
 
Frederick