4i Newsletter Masthead 372b

Workout.

fouri 372 WorkoutI’m writing this on Saturday, 17th April at 11.52.

24 hours prior, I set off for a mammoth lunch with very good friends, the first time I’d been out in ages. We all had far too much to eat and drink and I know nothing about the journey home having fallen asleep in the back of an Uber.

Can you imagine how I felt when my alarm went off this morning and I remembered I’d booked a gym session? The language in my head is not for repeating here.

But I got up and went to the gym and more, put in a full shift as evidenced by the MyZone recording system.

On the way back home, as I wondered how on earth I’d managed it, I reflected on ‘Q2’, one of the many lessons I’ve learned from Stephen Covey which has stood me in good stead for almost 30 years.

Quadrant Two (Q2) activities are those that are NOT Urgent but are Important.

I could have skipped the session this morning and it would probably have made very little difference to my overall health and fitness. But what if I had also passed on the sessions last Monday, Wednesday and Friday? What if I don’t go for the four I’ve booked for this week? What if that pattern became a habit?

Q2 activities are those that shape your life. Of course those in Q1, (Urgent & Important) can be massive but it’s what you do before the Q1’s hit that more often than not makes all the difference.

Q2 is the time spent on preparation, planning, proper recreation and learning. It’s all stuff that can be put off as it’s not Urgent. But it is Important.

When I book my gym sessions I make a commitment to my trainer and more importantly to myself. By having a PT it makes it harder to cancel and not because he would still, rightly, charge me, but because of the feeling of shame that would fall on me.

I suggest this is equally true with learning and personal development. I apply the same approach mentally as physically. I’m a member of a business improvement group that meets each month as well as having several coaches/mentors for different areas that I wish to improve. That’s why I’m going to read a book today which has been recommended to me by one of them. Of course I could skip it and do something else, but what would I then be saying to myself and how could I look my members in my eye when I give them their programme to follow?


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