ENU
Friends,
Recently an executive coaching client texted me a screenshot of his digital calendar.
On it was a standing appointment labeled “ENU.”
He knew that I’d know what that meant even if no one else did.
A major accomplishment.
Step one of making all his dreams come true.
And not just his dreams—anyone’s.
So who—or what—is the magical ENU?
***
The teaching is, everything we do can be categorized in one of four ways:
• Urgent and essential
• Urgent and non-essential
• Non-urgent and essential
• Non-urgent and non-essential
Or, if you love grids:
UE | NUE
UNE | NUNE
***
In the business world, something urgent and essential would be a VIP client meeting, for example.
Something urgent and non-essential would be answering (most) incoming calls, texts, and emails.
Something non-urgent and essential would be strategic planning.
And something non-urgent and non-essential would be checking Instagram.
***
This applies personally as well.
Urgent and essential? Going to the emergency room.
Urgent and non-essential? Grocery shopping.
Non-urgent and essential? Phone-free alone time.
Non-urgent and non-essential? Watching Netflix.
***
Quick quiz:
Of these four categories, what’s the most important?
And what do you do after what’s most important?
And what do you do after that?
Please pause.
Answer for yourself—and then read on.
***
Most people say urgent and essential is the most important category.
Look! the thinking goes.
It’s urgent.
And it’s essential.
What could be more straightforward than that?
***
The next thing most everyone hits is the urgent non-essential category.
Something in us wants to get the urgent things done—and then we can finally relax.
Except we have so many seemingly urgent things to do, all day long, that we exhaust ourselves.
Brain and body fried, the only thing we can do then is veg out.
So we go from urgent essential (getting to work) to urgent non-essential (answering email) to non-urgent, non-essential (mindless scrolling).
And anything non-urgent essential (wait—what do I really want?) is a perpetual dream deferred.
***
Another way is possible.
In this system, non-urgent essential is the most important category.
That doesn’t mean you necessarily spend the most time on it, or that it has to start every day.
But it means you make it a consistent, reliable, highly-protected, and non-negotiable part of your life—as important as teeth-brushing, texting, or any particular project or responsibility.
At this stage, what’s essential is much more important than any perceived rush.
Hence the rewrite to “ENU”—essential non-urgent—time.
The teaching is, this is the key to wild success at work.
Next-level satisfaction in life.
And highest happiness in relationships—beginning with your relationship with yourself.
***
Intrigued?
Don’t trust this—test it.
Make your own standing “ENU” appointment.
See what the experience brings for you.
As encouragement, if you send me a screenshot or photo of your experimental ENU calendar slot, I’ll reply with a powerful 1-pager on making every day a hero’s journey.
Either way, invest in the essential and I’ll see you on the path.
Urging—
Jeremy