Over the past 15 years I have spent countless hours reading books on mindset, discipline, decision making, leadership and pretty much any other topic in the self help genre. And for a long time I mostly just used those concepts for judging leaders and their shortcomings. It wasnt until I launched my owned business that I could really test myself against those concepts. 

So this blog doesnt turn into another book, Im just gonna focus on one pebble of a concept I use to prioritize my stuff. This concept is the Eisenhower Matrix and the pebble I want to examine is the "Important Not Urgent box."

A Little Background

Forth quarter of last year I was reviewing my backlog and celebrating the fact that I had exceeded my annual revenue target, again🤯 This led me questioning the impact of having a bigger dollar figure to target. Chasing money is a dangerous proposition for an addict like me because getting money isnt very hard in that there are selfish nefarious ways to make money. 

At the same time my mind was constantly distracted with a couple of the things I do through my business: Sweat Equity Improvement and Emotional Bungee Jumpers They just kept popping up in my thoughts so I decided to examine why. Long story short, I figured out that these two experiences had my attention because they are the most transformational things I do and they fill my need to witness transformation in people. 

These services represented the lowest percentage of my revenue but the most impactful. So it was clear that I had to focus on figuring out how to make these the core of my business. A meaningful goal that will keep me healthy.

This examination and decision happened over the course of 3 months, I was hyper focused on this problem so much so that I packed on the pounds. 

Zero to 213 in less than one Second

In December of last year I weighed in at 213 pounds. The heaviest I have ever been and it didnt happen over night. I could see it happening, my face got fluffier and I could see my second chin growing as I edited my podcast interviews. But i failed to take action and before I knew it not even my special Thanksgiving day stretchy pants fit anymore.

My first instinct was to go on a 3 day fast, or sign up for some radical intense strength training program. But Ive done that many times before and they worked but I always plumped up after wards. Plus my body doesnt recover like it used to and the prospect of aching joints and 24 hour muscle soreness was not attractive. 

I needed a lifestyle change one that is sustainable, actionable on a daily basis, and would deliver measurable results. A change that I could integrate while also figuring out how to maintain and grow my business.

The Important Not Urgent Box

The way I think about the "Important Not Urgent Box" is that it is the space where my time is best spent. It is the space where I gain the most clarity because the pressure of urgency is absent. I also know that when I dont take care of Important things when they are not urgent, they always become urgent in big ways.

Things like exercise, nutrition, and family all count as important and when we ignore them they become ultra urgent. High Blood Pressure, Divorce, Diabetes and more are often the things that bring our attention back to the important. And often the damage caused by ignoring the important before it becomes urgent is irreparable. 

So whats it gonna take for you to spend more time in the Important Not Urgent Box?

Back to the small big things I did and where I am today.

Current Condition

Today I weighed in at 206.4 pounds which is a total of 7 pounds off my waist line over the course of 6 months. And at the same time I discovered a couple of effective ways to introduce more people to the transformational stuff I do. Translation all the Important not Urgent things are getting done and I did it with small manageable adjustments.

Regarding my weight loss:

• I have a 600 calorie per meal target (not easy but super actionable)
• I take the average of my daily weigh ins at the end of the month and use it as my new bench mark for the new month (easy and super measurable)
• I incorporated "daily mileage" which is a target of 3 to 5 miles out on the trails ( i manage to do this 5 out of 7 days)
• I incorporated 20 minutes of strength training (im averaging 3 out of 7 days)
• I made sleep a priority the target is in bed by 9pm (Im averaging 2 out of 7 days on this one)

Regarding the transformational experiences

• I set a target of 2 Micro SQI lunch and learns per month to introduce decision makers to a resource thy can use to improve their production
• I launched The Cultivation Crew to help people expand their Impact, Influence, and Connection

Whats the Point

The point is spending more time in the Important not Urgent Box brings clarity when taking on big problems. 

The point is making small sustainable changes produces compounding impact.

The point is you can do the same, so whats it gonna take for you to spend more time in the Important Not Urgent Box?