Not Urgent, But So Important: Making Time for Yoga

Have you heard of the Eisenhower Matrix? It’s a simple tool for figuring out how to prioritise different tasks.

Former U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower famously said: “What is important is seldom urgent, and what is urgent is seldom important.”

This is usually talked about in a business context—or even in running a government! But the principle can just as easily be applied to our increasingly busy and complex lives.

The Matrix breaks tasks into four categories:

1. Important and Urgent

2. Important but Not Urgent

3. Not Important but Urgent

4. Not Important and Not Urgent

   
   

For example, attending a doctor’s appointment or picking the kids up from school is both important and urgent. Checking your social media or watching the latest Netflix episode? Not important and not urgent.

So far, so obvious. The first needs doing right away, and the last can definitely wait. But it’s everything in between that trips us up.

The real key is learning to prioritise the important but not urgent tasks before those that are urgent but not actually important.

We live in a time when we’re constantly contactable—messages, emails, notifications all demanding our attention. But how important are they, really? Some are. Some can wait. If you don’t learn to tell the difference, you’ll end up giving your time and energy to things that don’t actually matter that much.

So, what falls into the “important but not urgent” category? These are the things that take time and don’t offer instant results—like learning a new skill, developing relationships, or taking care of your health. Yoga and meditation fall into this space.

If you want to make your yoga or meditation practice part of your life, you’ve got to be honest with yourself: they’re not urgent—but they are important. And they need to be prioritised as such.

I used to practise yoga in the afternoon, once the kids were at school. In theory, it was the perfect time. In reality? It often didn’t happen. Something “urgent” would come up, and my so-called spare time would disappear.

(And let’s be real—how often do we actually have spare time or spare money?)

If your practice matters to you, it can’t be an afterthought. It has to be scheduled in.

These days, I get up early to practise. It’s the only way I can guarantee space for this important part of my life. And of course, life happens—early flights, illness, needing more sleep. I adjust when I need to. That’s part of the practice too.

A lot of people find that mornings work best for fitting in yoga or meditation—but really, the time is up to you. What matters is that you’re clear on how important it is, and that you give it the place it deserves in your day.

Your yoga practice might not shout for your attention the way emails and errands do—but it matters. Deeply. It’s a long-term investment in your health, your peace, your presence. So don’t wait for spare time. Prioritise it. Protect it. Show up for it.