It is important to prioritize tasks according to their urgency and importance. The real secret to working effectively is organizing your tasks by priority with the Covey time management matrix.
A time management matrix is a grid where you list all your tasks according to two dimensions: urgency and importance. See the time management matrix template below.
- Quadrant I includes tasks that are urgent and important (such as a sudden crisis that can’t be ignored).
- Quadrant II includes tasks that are important but not urgent (such as long-term projects like building relationships with clients). This is the most crucial quadrant.
- Quadrant III includes tasks that are urgent but not that crucial (such as answering emails).
- Quadrant IV includes things that are neither urgent nor important (such as social media).
When you divide all your responsibilities this way, it’s easier to see where to focus your efforts. Steven Covey went into great detail in his book “First Things First”.
When you spend your time focusing on quadrant 1, you are focusing on crisis and problems and are essentially putting out fires. If you only focus on this quadrant, it will lead to stress and burnout.
Focus on quadrant 2. Even though the items in quadrant I are important, you should focus on the tasks in quadrant II. These are often overlooked because they don’t feel as urgent. However, if you address them early on, you’ll help prevent new items from appearing in quadrant I.
If you focus on quadrant III, then you are focusing on matters that seem urgent but they are not. Their urgency is based on other people’s priorities and not your priorities. This will lead you to a loss of control since you are not managing your time and priorities. Someone else is. If you stay in this quadrant, you won’t achieve your goals since you are only focused on the very short term. Since you cannot do everything alone. Delegate things that you can pass on. Responsibilities in quadrant 3 can often be delegated.
Quadrant IV includes things that just waste your time and serve no purpose.
Answer the following questions in the notebook below.
- Estimate how much time you spend in each quadrant.
- How much of your time do you spend in quadrant 2?
- What can you do to focus more on quadrant 2?
Schedule an activity in your weekly planner that focuses on quadrant 2.
If you need to change your priorities, based on your answers above, then make changes to your weekly planner.