A task that is both urgent and unfinished will normally have started life as an urgent task, though it is possible that an unfinished task may become urgent during its lifetime.
Two examples of urgent and unfinished tasks are:
Writing this tip is an example of the first. I decided it was urgent because I wanted it done sooner than I would reach it in the normal course of things. I knew I needed to do a first draft before finalising it, so allowed time for two sessions of writing it.
Reading “War and Peace” was an example of the second. In order to get the book read quickly I decided it was “urgent” to get moving on it, and kept it in column 2. This meant I was reading it multiple times a day.
This provides a flexible way to do important projects while at the same time dealing with more trivial but necessary tasks.
To repeat what I said in my last two tips, it’s import to keep the tasks in Column 2 to a minimum. In particular it would be unwise to keep more than one, or possibly two, long term projects in Column 2 at a time.
Next tip: Dismissal