There is a technique to help prioritize your tasks, and clear your mind. The four quadrants is used to help to be more efficient, but more importantly identify those tasks required to complete first.
Personally, I first heard of this concept through Stephen Covey’s ‘Seven Habits of Highly Effect People.’ The matrix is known as the
Eisenhower’s Urgent-Important Principle.
The quadrants can be created on any piece of paper. They are sectioned off as:
Defining the Quadrants
Q1: Urgent and important
Q2: Not urgent but important
Q3: Urgent but not important
Q4: Not urgent and not important
You want to place your high priority items in quadrant one. Your want-to-do or can wait items are in quadrant four.
I have seen another way to view these quadrants are below:
- Important and Urgent – Crises and Emergencies
- Important but Not Urgent – Prevention, Planning, and Improvement
- Not Important but Urgent – Interruptions and Busy Work
- Not Important and Not Urgent – Time Wasters
The important thing to keep in mind is honesty. “Am I doing this because it is truly important or am I doing this because it is urgent?”
Matt Cole has high regard for knowledge share. He has a desire to share critical thinking and information. With a Masters in Information Technology and a wide array of certifications, while not working full-time, he wishes to knowledge share through providing insight, information organization, and critical thinking skills.
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