However, they require your attention and focus due to their significance. They also don’t have to consume time, effort, and resources. That said, some important work can also be urgent when their deadlines draw close. They are not necessarily urgent because their deadlines may still be far away. Tasks are considered important because they have a significant impact on your main goals. For example, a software program may have a serious bug shortly after launch. In some cases though, we’re not responsible for urgent tasks. Urgent responsibilities are mostly man-made because they were regular tasks that were ignored or deferred. They may or may not have a significant impact on your work or life and can be delegated. Not all urgent assignments require a lot of time and effort and they aren’t all important. Urgent tasks are activities and obligations whose deadlines are critically close or have passed. So, understanding important and urgent responsibilities will help you better identify the type of tasks that should fill each quadrant. The technique uses a combination of the two types of activities to form its four quadrants. What Are Important and Urgent Tasks?Īs we mentioned, the time management matrix focuses on important and urgent tasks and how to handle each accordingly. That’s why the time management matrix is also called the Eisenhower Matrix. He used it to organize his schedules throughout his time as President, NATO’s first supreme commander, the Allied Forces Supreme Commander during World War II, and a United States Army General. Eisenhower, the United States’ 34th President. While Stephen Covey popularized the time management technique, he wasn’t the first to use it. So, to help you prioritize, the matrix uses four different quadrants that allow you to group assignments according to importance and urgency. “Most of us spend too much time on what is urgent and not enough time on what is important.” He argued that most people are less productive because they prioritize urgent tasks over important ones. It involves identifying urgent and important responsibilities and handling them accordingly. The matrix focuses on efficient prioritization. Stephen Covey introduced the time management matrix in “The 7 habits of highly effective people,” his renowned self-development book released in 1989.

We’ll cover Stephen Covey’s 4 quadrants of time management in this article and also show you tips on how to use the technique.

Four quadrant priority matrix