The 4 Quadrants

When it comes to making effective use of our time, some have trouble identifying where activities of our daily lives fit. There are not many people out there nowadays that have abundant time available. For the rest of us, the following exercise may be useful.

This method is called the 4 quadrants of time management. Take out a piece of paper and draw a huge plus sign from edge to edge in the middle of the paper. This will divide the paper into 4 equal portions. From left to right, top to bottom, label each quadrant I, II, III, IV. Quadrant I should be labeled "Most Important", quadrant II "Most Urgent", quadrant III, "Less Important", quadrant IV "Less Urgent".

Now consider all the tasks you have to do on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. Some activities occur daily, others are infrequent. It may even help to have a separate sheet for each time period. Begin slotting each activity you do regularly in the appropriate quadrant. Most important things are absolutely necessary that they be completed. Most urgent things are frequent interruptions like answering the phone or attending to a screaming child.

If you are slotting too many things in quadrant I or II, you have a problem with prioritizing activities. Everything can not be done right away or be done at once. When everything is a priority, nothing really is, because they can't all be done simultaneously. The four quadrants should have nearly the same number of activities in each quadrant. Obviously, you should spend the bulk of your time in quadrant I and II. If some easier tasks are in III and IV and you do them, you won't likely have enough time to get quadrant I tasks completed.

Here is another thought about quadrant II "Most Urgent". Think about the consequences of not doing some of those interruptions. What will happen if you don't answer the phone for 30 minutes? Do you not have voice mail? Maybe the call can be returned later after you complete a quadrant I task. Maybe you can have an older sibling watch the baby for a while.

The point is that the sooner you get your time under your control rather than being manipulated by it, the saner life will be. Your financial matters are the same. The sooner you get your budget in line with your expenses, the less stress life will be.

A sluggard does not plow in season;
so at harvest time he looks but finds nothing. Proverbs 20:4 (NIV)

If you have comments or questions, please feel free to contact me at the address below.
Email: DeltaInspire@panama-vo.com