Don’t Waste Any More Time

Your time is valuable—there’s no doubt about that. So why is so much of it wasted on tasks of little importance or value? The primary reason is most likely the lack of prioritization. If you don’t prioritize your tasks on a daily basis, you can easily find yourself behind the 8-ball most of the time. One way to keep the most important tasks front-and-center is to use the four quadrants of time management. Since this method was first introduced by time management guru Stephen Covey, it has grown into one of the most popular and easily recognized productivity tools available. Simply put, the four quadrants help you categorize all of your tasks by importance.

Quadrant 1: Important and urgent. These are your “fires” that must be put out immediately. Ideally, good planning and time management should keep this quadrant empty, but as we all know, work and life sometimes has other ideas! Crisis happens.

Quadrant 2: Important but not urgent. These are your silent but deadly tasks. They may not be a squeaky wheel whining for your attention, but they are still of the utmost importance. This is where you want your tasks to fall—this quadrant allows you to focus on the tasks at hand without the associated stress. Think annual check-ups at the doctor or your exercise regimen.

Quadrant 3: Not important but urgent. Can you say, “Distractions?” That’s what this quadrant is all about. It’s your unwanted drop-ins by visitors, unplanned phone calls and other activities that require your immediate attention. As the saying goes, “Poor planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part!”

Quadrant 4: Not important and not urgent. Because these tasks are trivial in nature, they only serve to waste your time. Avoid these at all costs since they add very little or no value to your daily activity.

When you have questions around the priorities associated with your tasks, the four quadrants help diagram a clear picture of where your focus should be. Don’t be afraid to say “No” to last-minute activities of little value, and never confuse urgency for importance—it will cost you in the long-run. About Day Runner At Day Runner, our mission is to assist people in “designing their day” with a touch of fashion and function. Many products can be configured for individual planning needs. Our loose-leaf day planners allow users the flexibility to easily select the page formats and style that they like and put them where they need those most. Our products are available from many office product retailers and dealers nationwide and can also be found in office supply catalogs. For more information or to order your planning and organizing tools, visit www.dayrunner.com. Photo by Yung Tsai (http://www.flickr.com/photos/26231770@N03/)