rich dad

if a person cannot master the power of self-discipline, it is best not to try to get rich."
-Robert T. Kiyosaki

Job Openings at Theorem

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The Urgent/Important Matrix

An article that I really am guilty with. Learned a lot from this:) Thanks Mind Tools:)

The Urgent/Important Matrix
Using Time Effectively, Not Just Efficiently
by Mind Tools

	It's urgent, but is it really important?
	©iStockphoto

We've all been there: The project is due for today's meeting and we are only three quarters done. Our anxiety is at its peak, we can't concentrate, everything is a distraction, and then, finally, we blow!

Time stressors are some of the most pervasive sources of pressure and stress in the workplace, and they happen as a result of having too much to do in too little time.

With this kind of pressure all too common, effective time management is an absolute necessity. You probably use a day-planner and to-do list to manage your time. These tools are certainly helpful, but they don't allow you to drill down to one of the most essential elements of good time management: distinguishing between what is important and what is urgent.

Great time management means being effective as well as efficient. Managing time effectively, and achieving the things that you want to achieve, means spending your time on things that are important and not just urgent. To do this, and to minimize the stress of having too many tight deadlines, you need to distinguish clearly between what is urgent and what is important:

• Important activities have an outcome that leads to the achievement of your goals.
  
  
• Urgent activities demand immediate attention, and are usually associated with the achievement of someone else's goals, or with an uncomfortable problem or situation that needs to be resolved.

Urgent activities are often the ones we concentrate on. These are the "squeaky wheels that get the grease." They demand attention because the consequences of not dealing with them are immediate.

The Urgent/Important Matrix is a useful tool for thinking about this.

The idea of measuring and combining these two competing elements in a matrix has been attributed to both former US President Eisenhower and Dr Stephen Covey. Eisenhower's quote, "What is important is seldom urgent and what is urgent is seldom important," sums up the concept of the matrix perfectly. This so-called "Eisenhower Principle" is said to be how Eisenhower organized his tasks. As a result, the matrix is sometimes called the Eisenhower Matrix. Covey brought the idea into the mainstream and gave it the name "The Urgent/Important Matrix" in his 1994 business classic, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

How to Use the Tool:

The Urgent/Important Matrix is a powerful way of thinking about priorities. Using it helps you overcome the natural tendency to focus on urgent activities, so that you can keep enough time clear to focus on what's really important. This is the way you move from "firefighting", into a position where you can grow your business and your career.

The matrix is drawn as shown in figure 1, with dimensions of Importance and Urgency.



The steps below help you use the matrix to prioritize your activities:

1. Firstly, list all of the activities and projects you feel you have to do. Try to include everything that takes up your time at work, however unimportant. (If you manage your time using an Action Program, you'll already have done this.)


2. Next, assign importance to each of the activities – you can do this on, say, a scale of 1 to 5: Remember, this is a measure of how important the activity is in helping you meet your goals and objectives. Try not to worry about urgency at this stage, as this helps get to the true importance.


3. Once you have assigned importance to each activity, evaluate the urgency of each activity. As you do this, you can plot the listed items on the matrix according to the assigned importance and urgency.
   
   
4. Now study the matrix using the guidelines below, and schedule your work according to your priorities.

Figure 2: Strategies for Different Quadrants of the Matrix Urgent and Important ("Critical Activities"): There are two distinct types of urgent and important activities: Ones that you could not foresee, and others that you have left to the last minute. You can avoid the latter by planning ahead and avoiding procrastination. Issues and crises, on the other hand, cannot always be foreseen or avoided. Here, the best approach is to leave some time in your schedule to handle these. Also, if a major crisis arises, some other activity may have to be rescheduled. If this happens, identify which of you urgent-important activities could have been foreseen and think about how you could schedule similar activities ahead of time, so they do not become urgent. Urgent and Not Important ("Interruptions"): Urgent but not important activities can be a constant source of interruption. They stop you achieving your goals and completing your work. Ask yourself whether these tasks can be rescheduled, or whether someone else could do them. A common source of such interruptions is from other people coming into your office. Sometimes it's appropriate to say "No" to people, or encourage them to solve the problem themselves. Alternatively, try allocating time when you are available, so that people only interrupt you at certain times (a good way of doing this is to schedule a regular meeting so that all issues can be dealt with at the same time). By doing this, the flow of work on your important activities will be less disrupted. Not Urgent, but Important ("Important Goals"): These are the activities that you can plan ahead for to achieve your goals and complete your work. Make sure that you have plenty of time to achieve these, so that they do not become urgent. And remember to leave enough time in your schedule to deal with unforeseen problems. This will maximize your chances of keeping on schedule, and help you avoid the stress of work becoming more urgent that necessary. Not Urgent and Not Important ("Distractions"): These activities are just a distraction, and should be avoided if possible. Some can simply be ignored. Others are activities that other people want you to do, but they do not contribute to your own desired outcomes. Again, say "No" politely and firmly where this is appropriate. If people see you are clear about your objectives and boundaries, they will often not ask you to do "not important" activities in future.

Key Points

The Urgent/Important Matrix helps you look at your task list, and quickly identify the activities you should focus on. By prioritizing using the Matrix, you can deal with truly urgent issues, at the same time that you keep on working towards your goals.

moving on...

dalawang salita na binubuo ng maraming kahulugan...

Anong moving-on ang tinutukoy ko dito?
a. moving on after break-up,
b. moving on after failing,
c. moving on from routinary task,
d. moving on after something you have planned has not happened...
e. none of the above

(hulaan mo kung anong tamang sagot??:)


yep! letter d. na moving on ang aking tinutukoy...galing ah! (hehe, kung anong pinakamahaba, yun kadalasan ang tamang kasagutan--pero mali yun, bias daw ang tawag don)

hehe going back,
maraming nangyari nitong nagdaang mga araw (linggo, buwan, taon, century:)),
hindi ko na nga lang namamalayan na ang bawat nagdaan ay may malaking impact sa aking susunod na patutunguhan.
ayun, tuloy, pakiramdam ko bigla akong nauntog! nauntog nang pagkalakas-lakas! na tila nag-iwan ng bukol at bigla kong naramdaman kung gaano pala iyon kasakit matapos ang ilang araw na dumaan...

ganoon pala iyon...

pero malipas ang ilang araw, naging okay na ang lahat.
hindi ko na muli napansin yung sakit ng pagkakauntog ko.
ang aking muling pagmulat ay puno ng ngiti at liwanag muli (yup, blade meron ka?!).
salamat na lamang sa mga taong nariyan sa akin upang magpaalala ng mga bagay-bagay,
na hindi mahalaga kung ano man yuon--kundi kung anong gagawin mo sa susunod na pagkakataon...

i'll be taking my exam next year:) i want to regain my friendship with one of my closest friends:) and continue accepting some realities:)

yes, ill be moving on together with HIM:)
whom ill be entrusting everything,
and looking forward for the day of harvesting what He has promised:)

Matapos ito isulat, si leowniey ay __________.
a. humahalakhak
b. tumatawa
c. nakangisi
d. nakangiti
e. wala sa nabanggit

By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept

By The River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept by Paulo Coelho (thanks jo for lending me this:)
-A very touching novel that will leave you with endless meaning of love...
Paulo never fails to bring his readers in musing the importance of courage, taking risks in following your dreams, and fighting what your heart truly desires.

LOVE is always new. Regardless of whether we love once, twice, or a dozen times in our life, we always face a brand-new situation. Love can consign us to hell or to paradise, but it always takes us somewhere. We simply have to accept it, because it is what nourishes our existence. If we reject it, we die of hunger, because we lack the courage to stretch out a hand and pluck the fruit from the branches of the tree of life. We have to take love where we find it, even if that means hours, days, weeks of disappointment and sadness. The moment we begin to seek love, love begins to seek us, and eventually to save us.


You have to take risks. We will only understand the miracle of life fully when we allow the unexpected to happen.
Every day, God gives us the sun--and also one moment in which we have the ability to change everything that makes us unhappy. Every day, we try to pretend that we haven't perceived that moment, that it doesn't exist--that today is the same as yesterday and will be the same as tomorrow. But if people really pay attention to their everyday lives, they will discover that magic moment. It may arrive in the instant when we are doing something mundane, like putting our front-door key in the lock; it may lie hidden in the quiet that follows the lunch hour or in the thousand and one things that all seem the same to us. But that moment exists--a moment when all the power of the stars becomes a part of us and enables us to perform miracles.

Joy is sometimes a blessing but it is often a conquest. Our magic moment helps us to change and sends us off in search of our dreams. Yes, we are going to suffer, we will have difficult times, and we will experience many disappointments--but all of this is transitory; it leaves no permanent mark. And one day we will look back with pride and faith at the journey we have taken.

Pitiful is the person who is afraid of taking risks. Perhaps this person will never be disappointed or disillusioned; perhaps she won't suffer the way people do when they have a dream to follow. but when that person looks back--and at some point everyone looks back--she will hear her heart saying, "What have you done with the miracles that God planted in your days? What have you done with the talents God bestowed on you? You buried yourself in a cave because you were fearful of losing those talents. So this is your heritage: the certainty that you wasted your life."

Three 1st!

My 1st Day in My 1st Job in My 1st Company--THEOREM ^__^

April 16, 2009.
It has been a very enjoyable and memorable day for me:)

• I have experienced the buddy system whereby the HR Department provided me someone so called buddy to be with me all throughout. Well, that's been definitely effective to lessen my culture shock! :p and I love the treat during lunch!
  
• My new workmates were all nice and let me feel so welcome:)
• I was able to attend their meeting and got so motivated to do more good! Thanks to our very diligent directors:) they are very blessed with such leadership skills:)
• It's been a day also for me to realize how important my part is in structuring the new system they've got--DMS:) I'll be solely handling this with collaboration with sir eumir in the innovation dept. Help me Lord to handle this successfully:)
  
• Been with the kainan celebration for few reasons like sir ross and sir marc had their BIRTHday, ate tin-tin leveled-up for accomplishing her probationary period, and grand welcome to the newcomers, sir third and me:)

To wrap it up, it's been an overwhelming day for me. Thank God for letting me experience these things more than what I have expected. For now, I'm starting to love Theorem and the people behind it--to be a help in accomplishing their goals and objectives. I really am anticipating to be a part of its history:)

Thank you so much Lord for all the graces:) I owe these things from you:) May you be glorified as I will do my best to serve you:)

Leonie:)

panibagong HAGDAN ^__^

Isa nanamang kabanata ang malapit nang matapos daanan
at darating naman ang isang panibagong hagdan
hagdan na kinakailangang tahakin ng buong lakas at talino
na magpapatibay at magpapatatag sa akin sa pagharap sa isang panibagong yugto...

Ating balikan ang mga nagdaang nakaraan,
doon sa aking kinalagakang unibersidad na tunay ngang tumatak sa aking puso't isipan
kung saan inilaan ang aking buhay estudyante na pinuno ng pagtitiyaga at pagsasakripisyo
at unti-unting hinubog ang aking buong pagkatao.

Napakasarap muling alalahanin ang mga taong noo'y nagsipadating
na nagpalamas ng kanilang talino at galing at nagsilbing malaking impluwesiya sa amin
sila ang aming mga propesor na ginawang instrumento ng Maykapal upang kami ay turuan
at ihandog ng walang pasubali't alinlangan ang kanilang gintong karunungan.

Naroon din ang mga taong nagsilbing krayola at nagbigay kulay at saya
mga taong hindi ko rin malilimutan dahil sa haba ng aming mga pinagsamahan
sila ang aking mga kamag-aral na akin ding naging katuwang sa pagngiti at pagtawa
at sa palaging pagpapaalala na sa kabila ng lahat ng hirap at sakit ay mayroong oras upang ngumiti at magpasalamat.

Sa kabilang dako, hindi mawawala ang isang aspeto na naging parte ng aking buhay estudyante
ito ay ang mga karanasan na hinding hindi ko malilimutan...
mga karanasang nakapagpabago ng aking payak na kaisipan...
samo't saring karanasan na aking dadalhin sa susunod na tatahaking baitang.

Ang lahat ng ito ay lubos na aking ipinagpapasalamat sa Kanya...
Siya na nagplano, bumuo, at ginawang posible ang lahat para sa isang tulad kong minsa'y naghangad at nangarap.
Na sa kabila ng ambon, ulan, at bagyo ay palaging may nakalaang isang bagong umaga kung saan ang haring araw ay nakangiting nag-aabang at nagsasabing "dumilat ka at magmasid sa buhay na puno ng ganda at pag-asa".