The time management matrix of Stephen Covey is from his 7 Habits of Highly Successful People. This book has been one of the cornerstones in personal development and success strategies. His matrix allows the individual who uses it to easily see where they are spending their time so they can make adjustments. The matrix is the easy part, categorizing your tasks may not be as easy. Read on for more of Stephen Covey’s grid for the management of time.
The Time Management Matrix is from The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven Covey. This book saved my sanity. I found myself daily getting sidetracked and diverted from my To Do list by what everyone else thought was the top priority. It was their priority, of course, not mine, and I had a bad habit of wanting to please everyone. So what happens is that the last person to hand you a “priority” gets bumped to the top of the list. If you don’t set your own priorities, you will be tossed like a bottle on the sea. Stephen Covey simplified it immensely with his 4 quadrants in the Time Management Matrix.
Quadrant I Activities: URGENT + IMPORTANT
Crises
Pressing Problems
Deadline-driven projects
Quadrant II Activities: NOT URGENT but IMPORTANT
Prevention
Planning
Relationship building
Recognizing new opportunities
Values clarification
True recreation
Not Important
Quadrant III Activities: URGENT and NOT IMPORTANT
Interruptions, some calls
Some mail, some reports
Some meetings
Proximate, pressing matters
Popular Activities
Quadrant IV Activities: NOT URGENT and NOT IMPORTANT
Trivia, busy work
Some mail
Some phone calls
Time wasters
Pleasant activities
Covey says that many of us spend most of our timein Quadrant IV and almost no time in Quadrant II.
Consider the activities shown in each quadrant:
I. URGENT and IMPORTANT
Clearly, these activities should take first priority. However, your long term goal should be to reduce time spent here by prevention, preparation, etc. (see Quadrant II).
II. NOT URGENT but IMPORTANT
The key to success in gaining control of your time priorities is to focus on activities in this quadrant. If you are currently doing very little here, begin by carving out a small amount of time each day and building on it.
III. URGENT and NOT IMPORTANT
Many of us get trapped by other people’s sense of urgency telling us what is important. Allowing your priorities to fall here can result in a frenzied rush to get “things” done, followed by a sense of emptiness and lack of satisfaction.
IV. NOT URGENT and NOT IMPORTANT
Obviously, minimize time spent in activities in this quadrant.
I wish you luck with this and warn you that you have to be ever vigilant about it. There will always be someone who wants to revise your priorities
Be sure to visit my blog for more articles like this. Leadership Fundamentals. Read how I started my blog: http://homebusiness.about.com/u/sty/blogs/work-at-home-business-blogs/WordPress-Blog-on-Management.htm
More on Time Management Matrix:
Priority Matrix (Time Management) – Share the knowledge that I gain
Time management experts have developed a model called a time management matrix or Priority Matrix. This model helps us prioritize our activities and use our time more effectively. Through the model we can evaluate our activities in …
Publish Date: 05/14/2010