Need more clarification on each quadrant? Here's how we think they're used best. When writing out your to-do list, each task should be assigned to a quadrant, which instantly helps you see your priorities.Īpplying the 4 Quadrants to Your Time Management
#STEPHEN COVEY PRIORITIZATION MATRIX HOW TO#
The chart below displays how to use the 4 quadrants. Steven Covey's 4 quadrants divides into the following 4 This exercise helps us to assess the "urgency" of something, to determine if it really needs our attention. Well, it's all very workable with the Covey time management 4 Quadrant activity. Things do come up! But, do these surprises always 'require' our immediate attention? How do you assess what's really important? It doesn't actually help us sort-through what's next.Īdditionally, even with a clear list or plan, life throws us curve-balls. Without a strategy, writing down everything as a to-do list, is just mind-dumping without order. The tasks you do for entertainment alone, such as watching the television, surfing the web for hours, gossiping about people, are neither urgent nor important for you.Applying the 4 Quadrants of Covey time management is a fabulous tool that helps us visualize commitments, and become strategic with re-assessing and re-prioritizing them. You can save valuable time by avoiding those chores and spending it on more valuable activities. All activities that take up time without producing any value fall into this quadrant. In Covey's time management matrix, this quadrant is at the bottom right-hand side. No matter if it's unimportant calls or sending emails that don't add any value. In other words, all the time-wasting activities fall in this quadrant. Since, overall, it won't have any positive impact on your life. If the meeting is unplanned without an agenda, you may choose to skip it. Let's say you are working on an important project and you get a call from a colleague asking you to join a meeting. All those activities may seem urgent to you, but you can remove them from the workflow since they hold minimal importance for you.
This quadrant is located in the bottom left corner of Covey's time management matrix. Developing relationships, long-term planning, personal development, improving health, and related activities fall within this quadrant. If you have a long-term goal of establishing your reputation in an office or class, it may not be that urgent however, it is still important. It requires your thorough attention however, it is not urgent as there is no limited time to complete this task. In this quadrant, you will find tasks that directly relate to your long-term goals. In Covey's time management matrix, this quadrant is on the top right. Tasks involving deadlines, school assignments, sending daily emails, and similar activities with direct impact are urgent and important.
It's urgent because you don't have much time for it and it's important as you have to get it ready before the meeting starts. Preparing a presentation for an important meeting that will commence after a short time is a type of task that falls in quadrant one. Neglecting them, in the long run, can be problematic for you. Problems and crises that require immediate attention belong in quadrant one. In Covey's time management matrix, this quadrant is located at the top left. The following is a brief overview of what each quadrant contains. These are the four quadrants of the Time Management Matrix:īy prioritizing your tasks across four quadrants, you can differentiate between tasks that make a real difference in the end.