Urgent actions or tasks are simply those that have close deadlines €“ as soon as possible or by close of play €“ and of course prescriptions. Important actions are those that help you to achieve your objectives or priorities. You will only know what is important if you have a plan and a set of goals.

Don't get urgency mixed up with importance. What's urgent for someone else doesn't mean it is important to you.

Don't ignore tasks that are€¦

Quadrant 1: Important and urgent €“

This is the just do it box. If an action is in this box, just get on with it. Time spent in this box can be fire fighting and it is quite a stressful box to be in. Depending on your role, you probably want to limit your time spent in this box to a maximum of 10 to 20 per cent of your day.

This is a difficult area for pharmacists. We are available for patients from the minute the door opens until it closes again.

Spend more time doing tasks that are€¦

Quadrant 2: Important but not urgent €“

This is a lovely quadrant to be in. Completing tasks from this box gives you a warm glow inside €“ you know you've just done something that adds value to your life, and nobody was chasing you. The trick is to schedule in this time.

It should be protected and valued. The classic example is training and staff development. It may not be urgent, but it is very important if your team is to improve its efficiency and activity.

This is the quadrant we should all spend most of our time in. Be brutally honest: how much time do you really spend on these important but non-urgent tasks? 10 per cent? Zero per cent?

If the only action you take after reading this article is to block some time out of your diary for these tasks each week, then you will have gained something tangible.