

- #Stephen covey time management matrix how to#
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When you track past activities with time management software, you can assess how much time you’ve spent on tasks from each quadrant.

This way, you will stay on top of emotions that block rational decisions. Stay mindful when deciding what’s really important. Next stepsĪssess activities listed in other quadrants to see what you can eliminate or minimize through reorganization, delegation, or simply deleting unnecessary tasks. They avoid Quadrants III and IV as much as possible. For example, if you devote too much attention to Quadrant I, it can easily dominate all your time.Ĭovey stated that effective people focus their time on Quadrant II while minimizing time spent on Quadrant I tasks.

#Stephen covey time management matrix how to#
Balancing the quadrantsĪfter placing items in each quadrant, the next step is to determine how to balance your attention and time between these areas. These mindless activities should never distract you from important tasks, and often it’s best if these are eliminated entirely.
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These are time wasters such as internet surfing, social media scrolling, and TV binge-watching. Here is where you put activities that are neither urgent nor important. Quadrant IV is found at the bottom right of the matrix. From there, you may need to spend even more time discussing food options and finalizing the purchase. This might be someone asking you if they should grab lunch for you while they’re out. Some examples include an email, text message, or phone call that requires an immediate response before it loses all or most of its value. These tasks typically involve another person who didn’t plan their time appropriately and is now asking you to deliver on an emergency basis.Īs a result, these things are usually “time sucks” that distract you from your true focus. It may sound contradictory to label something urgent but unimportant. These are urgent things that aren’t important and should be eliminated or, at the very least, minimized. Quadrant III is at the bottom left side of the matrix. These are tasks that you should prioritize and plan for so you can stay on target to reach your long-term goals.Įxamples include exercising, pitching new clients, revising your resume, and maintaining relationships with friends and family through social activities and interaction. Here, you list important things that aren’t urgent. Quadrant II is at the top right of the matrix. Often these situations are unexpected but must be dealt with now. These are activities or tasks that need immediate attention and action - for example, a family emergency due to an accident or an upcoming hard-and-fast deadline. Here, you need to place items that are both important and urgent. Quadrant I is located at the top left of the matrix. The time management matrix has four quadrants for separating your activities into different levels of both importance and urgency. A time management matrix template Time management matrix quadrants Ignoring an urgent matter could get in the way of you addressing the important activities and achieving your goals. There’s pressure or a significant reason to take care of these things right away. In contrast, urgent activities and tasks need your immediate attention. If that happens, you become reactive because you haven’t properly managed important things over time. These require your sustained attention and effort to complete however, they aren’t necessarily “urgent.” They may not demand your immediate attention, but you can’t ignore these important activities without risking them becoming urgent problems. Important activities and tasks directly contribute to achieving medium-term and long-term goals. It’s important to understand, before learning how to fill in the time management matrix, the difference between activities that are “important” and those that are “urgent.”
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Create your own time management matrix in minutes with Jotform’s free form templates.
