Establishing Priorities


Do you ever feel as if you are getting less and less done, even though you seem to be working
longer and harder?
Do you ever feel more and more stress about the tasks continue to pile up and you can’t seem to
get them done?
It seems as if we are under the assumption that we can fit more into our day if we just work harder
or more efficiently; if we multitask or use technology. Here’s another idea…what if we were to focus on
getting more important things done rather than getting more done? It’s a novel idea, but one that has
shown to improve effectiveness (not just efficiency) as well as personal satisfaction.
The importance of deciding what’s important…
Consider this…..any activity can be thought of in terms of its importance and urgency. An
important task simply means one whose completion would significantly contribute to an individual’s
goals. An urgent task is one that “appears to require immediate attention”. Note the word ‘appears’.
Somebody interrupts you at your desk with a question. The phone rings. A little window pops up on your
computer announcing the arrival of yet another email. All of these place an immediate demand on your
time, but they may not actually require your attention straight away. They are urgent… but are they
important?
Not important
Important
Urgent
Not Urgent
II.
I.
Quadrant of Demand
-
Crisis
Pressing problems
Project deadlines
Quadrant of the Zone
Planning
Prevention
Relationship Building
New opportunities
Learning, developing
-
III.
IV.
Quadrant of Illusion
-
Interruptions
Phone calls, emails,
texts
Certain meetings or
popular activities
Quadrant of Escape
-
Busy work
Time wasters
Facebook, internet
Leisure activities
Developed by the Student Development Center
Administration Building, room 230
797-5365
Begin evaluating (and planning!) your time accordingly…
Quadrant 1: These tasks are both important and urgent, and typically this means panic or
problems! This is the test scheduled for tomorrow that you need to prepare for today or finding the
note cards you created for this afternoon’s presentation or being asked by your supervisor to change
work schedules. All these things appear to require immediate attention and do!
Quadrant 2: These tasks are important but not urgent. Completing these tasks would make a
significant contribution to your goals and (satisfaction!); but because they are not urgent, they do not
have to be accomplished immediately. Tomorrow will be fine. Or even next week… So typically these
tasks are about planning ahead, preventing problems before they happen, and building relationships
with people (i.e. other students, professors, or partners).
Quadrant 3: These tasks are urgent but not important. These are all things that aren’t important
but which distract us from our true goals. Phone calls, emails, interruptions, other people’s problems –
anything which tries to grab your attention. These tasks are not consistent with your goals, decrease our
satisfaction. Sometimes these tasks “feel” urgent because other people tend to pressure use of our time
just when it suits them.
Quadrant 4: These tasks are neither urgent nor important. Here we are just wasting our time….idly
surfing the web, flicking through magazines, chatting at the water cooler. These are pleasant
distractions, but do not accomplish our goals and create decreased satisfaction in the long term.
Making the decisions…
In reality, distractions, problems, & interruptions are going to occur. All the planning in the
world cannot prevent them. We need to be realistic about the time we spend in Quadrant 1. And, while
sometimes we need to just relax, we also need to be realistic about the time we spend in Quadrant
4.The key to personal effectiveness is cutting back on the time we devote to tasks in Quadrant 3 and
shifting that time to Quadrant 2 activities. So, rather than saying ‘yes’ to everything that comes along,
challenge yourself to focus on the importance of what’s being asked. In other words, it’s all about
‘exercising integrity in the moment of choice’. That means taking just a second before you take on a task
to ask yourself, “is this the most important thing I can be doing right now? Or is it just the next thing?”
You can even ask if it your problem to deal with?
Covey argues that consistently spending even 1% more time in Quadrant 2 will start to have a
significant impact on our lives. A bit more time thinking ahead and building relationships will help
reduce the likelihood of crises from happening (Quadrant 1), allow us more valuable time doing what is
important to us (Quadrant 2). Focusing on the important rather than just the urgent tasks reduces our
stress level and improves satisfaction.
Source: Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven Covey and adapted from The Management Centre (www.managementcentre.co.uk).
Developed by the Student Development Center
Administration Building, room 230
797-5365