Make It YOUR Own
There was a time when everyone around me was reading that book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. Perhaps you were one of them?
My partner at the time raved about it. I tried. I was not captivated. I tried again. I abandoned ship again. Then I forgot about it.
Or tried to. Over and over again it has come up in my education circles and especially in my work helping people through executive function challenges. To the point that I started to think that I had messed up by not reading the book.
One tool in particular that many people in my circles love to rave about is the Covey Quadrants. So, I thought I could start by simply learning more about this tool and introducing it to some of my clients.
Ugh. Nah. No resonance for me or them. I abandoned ship again.
Then, one day, for no good reason at all, I thought about the quadrants a little bit differently. I saw a chance to reinterpret them in a way that better described the challenges my creative clients face.
A client and I collaborated to see if this would work. She doodled a fantastic representation of her four ways of handling tasks: Hair on Fire Urgent, I Got This Calm, People Pleasing Overwhelm, and Total Avoider. Furthermore, we experimented with her writing a few things she wants to focus on for the week on sticky notes and placing them in the quadrant that feels true.
This way of visualizing her time worked way better than thinking about it linearly. It allowed for flexibility instead of a rigid plan that stifled her creativity. She could check in with it at any given moment and it helped her identify when she wasn’t in a good place so she could strategize.
I’ve never seen her get so much of what matters to her done. And we are still playing with it and further customizing it for her! And now many of my clients are drawing their own versions!
There are so many tools out there to help us manage our time and build helpful habits. For many of us who identify as creative, though, we often resist them for good reason - they somehow squash our creativity. However, if you approach the tool creatively, you just might find a magic key!
☆★ Creative Challenge ★☆ Grab a piece of paper and split it into four quadrants. Doodle your own version of Last Minute Stress, Under Control, Distracted Overwhelm, and Complete Avoidance. Which quadrant are your important tasks falling under?
Helping you use all that creativity to create a practical toolkit that works for you is my jam! Let’s have you feeling more successful than ever Creative!