I feel a bit behind the times with this, but the information is still valuable to me, even if it is decades old. I recently read about Covey’s concept of a Time Management Matrix, in which tasks/goals are placed into four quadrants based on importance and urgency (see graphic below). He recommends that we spend the majority of our time in Quadrant II (about 80-90%) and the rest of our time in Quadrant I, eliminating as much of Quadrants III and IV as possible. He says, “The way you spend your time is a result of the way you see your time and the way you really see your priorities.”
Breaking Free from the Urgency Trap
Finding our way out of Quadrants I and III can be challenging because those are the urgent things—the things we think we have to take care of right then and there. But, if we spend more time planning and working on prevention (Quadrant II activities), we mitigate the need to be swallowed up by Quadrants I and III—“So that you’re dealing with prevention rather than prioritizing crises.”
Careers and Quadrants
When I read this chapter, Damien and I talked about it and how important the concepts are. We also discussed how our previous careers took us to very different quadrants than the ones we choose to work in now. When I worked in the Emergency Department (ED), our whole goal was to triage the patients, determine who was in crisis (think Quadrant I), and treat them emergently. All other patients took the backseat to the Quadrant I patients. This makes complete sense in the ED, yet it doesn't make much sense when you apply it to the areas of your daily life.
Prevention vs. Crisis Management
We’ll continue with the healthcare analogy here. If we were to take some very giant steps back from the ED and look at the whole spectrum of healthcare, it would make so much more sense to put the majority of the resources (time, money, effort, staff, research, education, etc.) into preventing major health crises than it would to putting the resources into emergently treating them when they arose. Yeah, that is a big undertaking, yet, think about how many lives would be saved? How much better the quality of life would be for most people? The problem is that healthy people are profitable—but we’ll save that rant for another time….
Imagining a Life Free of Constant Fires
What would your day/week/month look like if you weren’t constantly “putting out fires”? Would you have the time to read those articles essential to your work so you could get that promotion or start that business? Would you have the time to spend with your family in an uninterrupted, unrushed way? Would you have time to relax in a healthy way that isn’t doomscrolling on your phone or binge-watching yet another show on Netflix?
Planning for a Quadrant II-Focused Future
I have mentioned before that I use Dan Sullivan’s ABC Model Breakthrough to help identify the goals I want to focus on each quarter. Part of what I plan on doing in the next quarter is to look at my daily/weekly/monthly tasks through the lens of the Time Management Matrix and identify the quadrant that each of them falls into. Then I will look for ways in which I can progress to spending the majority of my time in Quadrant II. Since I know this is no small undertaking, I will give myself the grace to work on this over Q4 2024, and likely into 2025.
Ponder This
- Which Quadrant do you find yourself in most often, and how does it impact your long-term goals?
- What are some practical steps you can take to start shifting more of your focus to Quadrant II activities?
- How would your relationships or personal growth improve if you spent more time on important, non-urgent tasks?
Books
- The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People - Stephen Covey
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