Label each of the things with a number, one through four (matching the matrix).Make a list of the things you need to do.The biggest payoff comes from actions in the second quadrant.These are the goal-setting and evaluation of business objectives that impact the long-term success of a business, yet, they are rarely classified as urgent.īe a steward of your most precious resource: time.
#Stephen covey time management matrix template professional#
If you’re tackling the matrix for your professional goals, you may start to see that many of your to-dos are in quadrants one and three. Grey = not urgent, not important: Dump this task! Green = urgent, not important: Delegate this task! Yellow = important, but it’s not super urgent: Decide when you need to do it. The perfect color codes to implement can be modeled after those of firefighters. To add a new dimension to your matrix, assign each of the sections in your system a color. It’s best for you to see them in this quadrant so you can work hard at completely eliminating them from your work day. Simply put, this is the stuff of procrastination-the time-wasters that prevent us from accomplishing the more urgent and important tasks in the first two quadrants. Quadrant 4 – “Do it later”Īctivities that belong in this quadrant are the time-sucking things that don’t contribute any value whatsoever. The goal with these tasks is to make an attempt at eliminating and reducing the things that don’t help you do work.įor some, delegation can be an attractive option by offloading work to others so that the calls, emails, and requests can still be handled, freeing you to focus on things that matter in other quadrants. These types of tasks usually don’t warrant your attention because they don’t produce measurable output. Phone calls, emails, and last-minute meeting requests belong in this quadrant. Items that belong here are important, but they do not require your immediate attention. This is considered a strategic section of the matrix, perfect for long-term development.
They are very important deadlines with the highest level of urgency. These are the tasks and to-dos that need immediate attention. Take a look: Quadrant 1 – “Do it immediately” How do you decide when you’ll get it done, given all the competition from other items on your to-do list? Use the Eisenhower Matrix to help you figure it out Where you decide your task falls within a specific quadrant dictates where, when, and how long you should take to do that task. Once we clear that hurdle, procrastination melts away, and things start getting done.
Today, one of the biggest business challenges (and personal challenges, too), is how we can decide what is urgent and what’s not. Time management solutions are a helpful antidote to days filled with increasingly blurred deadlines, incessant noise, and excessive disruptions. Source: Stephen Covey, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People Most recently, the system has been popularized by Stephen Covey, author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. His ability to manage his time and tasks was essentially a decision matrix-a framework for deciding what was important and what wasn’t. It’s why the Eisenhower Matrix system exists today. According to legend, the matrix below was attributed to Eisenhower who said, “What is important is seldom urgent, and what is urgent is seldom important.” Despite its questionable veracity, there’s not much difficulty in debating Eisenhower’s effectiveness in time management. Even in the darkest hours and most pivotal moments of World War II, Eisenhower was intensely ambitious and steadfastly positive.Īnd like many of our noteworthy luminaries, there remains a certain, almost apocryphal mystique behind how the legendary leader earned his own power-packed productivity tool. He prioritized people and resources above everything else. Eisenhower, the five-star general and the 34th President of the United States was heralded for his ability to lead and make decisions in times of conflict and duress.
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