Yes—the grid is cool!
These four quadrants are really fun brain-candy.  The idea is to pay attention to which quadrant you are spending your time in.  If you spend most of your time in Quadrant 2—yay!  You win!  You are a Highly Effective Person.  

But urgency is compelling . . . 
and women tend to be the ones who deal with the urgent, pressing problems of life and other people (bosses, colleagues, kids).  Most women I know have days and even weeks fueled by adrenaline.

And truth be told--it actually feels amazing at first.  When we are faced with a crisis or a deadline, that surge of adrenaline clears out the sludge and gives us a sense of focus, purpose and direction. 

But our bodies are simply not made to run on adrenaline.  Years ago, one of my friends shocked me when she said, in an airy yet tired voice:  Oh yes!  My adrenal glands are shot. My doctor says that's true for most women.
 
So it is an actual life challenge is to learn to fuel ourselves with plentiful sleep, nutritious food, and deep-focus (Quadrant 2) instead of the adrenal-gland-killing state of Quadrant 1.

Sound overwhelming?
Wait--breathe with me here.
Start small. 
 
Here are 3 tips to gently shift out of your addiction to emergency
 
TIP 1:  Notice your body.  Next time there’s a crash in the next room or you see your ex’s number on your caller ID, notice the tingly surge of adrenaline run through your body.   After it is gone, do you wish you could feel energized like that again? Pay attention to your body's desire to create more of that juice.
 
TIP 2:  Become curious:  Hmm—am I chasing someone else’s urgency or emergency?  If we are used to running on adrenaline, it may feel good to keep it going.  Someone is always having an urgent moment, and if you are used to spending more time in Quadrant 1 than Quadrant 2, handling other people’s urgencies just becomes a way of life. 

(But not the way of your life--so stay in that energy of curiosity and . . .)
 
TIP 3: Invite Discernment.  Is something feels urgent, ask yourself:  is this something I need to deal with now or not? If the answer is yes—deal with it.  You are in Quadrant 1.  But if the answer is no, you are in Quadrant 3—and you get to discern: Do I put this on a list to deal with in my Quadrant 2 focused time?  Or can I just let it go?
 
And one final bonus tip!  The traditional advice for Quadrant 4 is to eliminate or reduce.  But it is more realistic to make a plan for those mindless clicks.  You may decide to set a timer and spend 5-10 minutes on non-urgent, non-important tasks as a way to relax in a waiting room or as a wind-down into something more mindful:  meditation or a relaxing bedtime routine.
 
If you want a deeper dive into Urgent vs. Important, join my private Facebook Group:  The Bottom Line is You!  I have a video on this very topic, plus a growing library of COVID-responsive videos on emotional hygiene and productivity at home.
 
CLICK to join my private FaceBook group:  The Bottom Line is YOU!

You are on the couch.  Your laptop is open.  You are staring.  You are clicking through your open tabs.  Calendar.  To-Do List.  Trello.  Facebook.  Gmail.  Zoom. Word.  Mom? Where’s the dog toothbrush? 

Wait--how did I get to the fridge?  Something cold and sweet actually sounds good.  Wait—I have an appointment soon.  Where is my phone?
 
Sound familiar?
 
If you have a living memory of how you used to rock your multi-tasking, working-from-anywhere world, it may still feel shocking to you, how hard it is to be productive at home right now.

• According to a friend who is also a productivity master, we have all been waking up every day emotionally taxed at 20%.  That’s a high rate.  It means that at best, we are operating at 80% of what used to be normal.
• Many of us are working from home with children also at home—and the tug that we always feel between working more and being more with the kids has morphed into a more or less constant knot of guilt and frustration.  Now we’re at a 30% emotional tax.
• Almost everyone is anxious about school starting.  Or not starting.  Or starting and then stopping. 

 
It’s a lot.
 
And yes, you all know that I have a whole bunch of free body-based emotional processing tools.
 
But today, I’ve got something a little different to share with you.
One small tweak to help your pandemic productivity problems.
 
It’s simple.
It’s elegant.
I’ve used it for years.
And I’ve re-vamped it for the ever emerging whack-a-normal!
 

Back in 2008, my office was in a kitchen that I shared with my colleagues.  Now, I’m an out-of-control extravert, so I was actually pretty happy. 
But not productive. 

I had heard about standing desks, and so, DYI that I am, I brought in a cardboard box, stuck my monitor on top, and got much joy from the sudden increase in my  energy!  My boss, being an angel, soon made sure that I had a more sturdy wooden tabletop standing desk, and now I have a decked-out, fully-automated standing desk that raises and lowers from standing to sitting.  

I love that desk.

It's in my office at the university.
Where I am not working very often.
You know—because of possible contagion.
 
At home, where I am protected from contagion but have no cool desk, I found myself getting sleepy instead of energized.
And grouchy with my daughter.
And distracted by the cat and dog and dishes.

​​So here is my one little tweak to help your productivity problems at home:
 
Create standing workspaces throughout your home.
 
This does not necessarily mean a full-out standing desk (though if you have the money and space—fantastic!)