Slacker Habit 3 Essay

Here is the big habit that I’ve been talking about, Habit 3 -”Put First Things First”. This habit divides the population into time quadrants, the “Important” quadrant, where your most important things belong and the “Urgent” quadrant, where things that need to happen soon or ASAP belong. Given the word quadrant, people can be divided up into four groups - you can be the “Procrastinator”, a “Prioritizer”, something called a “Yes-Man”, as well as a “Slacker”.
The Procrastinator belongs in the first quadrant or Quadrant 1, where activities are both important and urgent. You pretty much do not learn anything from being in this quadrant. For example, if you cram your studies into one night and receive a reasonable mark for the test that
happened the next day, you might have forgotten about what you had to study an hour or two after the test. These people say that they are going to stop procrastinating, but still do so after they say it. These people experience too much stress and anxiety, feel burnt out, and only put in average performance, according to Sean. I’ll speak to you about the Prioritizer last, it is the most important quadrant.
After Quadrant 1, there is Quadrant 3, where the Yes - Man belongs. If you haven’t already figured it out, the yes - man says yes to everyone. If mom asks if you’ll study that night, guess what the yes - man says? If there’s a party the same night and someone asks if the yes - man will go, guess what they’ll say? Given the fact that his or her activities are not important but urgent, you can see the yes - man is pressured by the people around them and is scared to say no to them, which is why they always respond with some kind of agreement. Instead of a leader, the yes - man feels as if he is a follower, lacks discipline, and acts as a doormat for others to wipe their feet on.
In the 4th Quadrant, we find the Slacker, whose activities are neither important nor urgent.
This quadrant is also quite self explanatory, as they are willing to do anything to waste time. Examples of “slacking” include napping, spending endless amounts of time watching tv or YouTube videos, on social media, and gaming (if they’re into those things). Anything outside of a slacker’s favourite activities that allow time to pass is probably one of the last things on their mind. Whoever you find in this Quadrant probably lacks responsibility, misses out on adventures, expresses guilt and flakiness, or make a change of plans unexpectedly. We now find ourselves with the Prioritizer of Quadrant 2. Their activities are important, but not urgent. Most, if not all their plans or planning is completed on time. These people can control over their lives, balance, and high
performance.
You would think that those people with their calendars and all their notes do not need them, right?
I’m pretty sure that most of the audience that reads this probably has the same idea as me. To be honest, those people are expressing their inner prioritizer and are planning weekly. If you do choose to plan weekly, you should find out what your “big rocks” or most important events are of that week. They can be based on school, your social life, family, job, yourself, and possibly anything extracurricular. Then, find time for your big rocks. Put them on your calendar, on a date you think is a fine day to do them or it is scheduled to happen on. Lastly, you should schedule all other things. There are things called “pebbles” that fit in, which are “interruptions” such as texting, errands, and checking social media. They can take up some of the time meant for big rocks, but you would still have time for your big rocks after those pebbles. The scheduling has been proven to work, all you have to do is read the book! The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens, only $19.99 CAD plus tax! Okay, back to this essay. Here, the two circles come back into play. The “Comfort Zone” or smaller circle, includes things you are familiar with, and serves as a risk - free “bunker”. The area within the circumference of the large circle (no, math!) and is on the outside of the Comfort Zone is the “Courage Zone”, which consists of (this is self explanatory) anything outside of your Comfort Zone. This
is practically where all of your risks are. You should never let fear make your decisions. After all, you should take responsibility for yourself. Make your own decisions. Be strong in hard moments and overcome peer pressure. These are things you should consider learning about when reading about this habit. In my case, I should start leaning towards the 2nd Quadrant because I constantly find myself in the Procrastinator quadrant. I should also start using a calendar and plan weekly. I am learning to take risks as well and lean into my Courage Zone. At Gifted last week, I hated working under pressure because my group and I had to act out a script that was finished the night before (thanks, Kevin) and left us going back to our best friend, improvisation. Thankfully ,we made it through the performance. The length of this essay may be killing you, but keep reading! You’ve already read four full paragraphs, reading a few more would not hurt, right?