In several books by Stephen Covey, he describes a framework for prioritizing work that is aimed at achieving long-term goals by understanding the lack of need for work on tasks that appear to be urgent, but are in reality less important. He uses a time management 4 box method to categorize tasks on two continuum: are they “urgent” and are they “important”. Users of the method can quickly recognize important tasks may not be urgent, and urgent tasks are not necessarily important.
The short answer is Quadrant II- those tasks that are important but not urgent – is where we need to invest time to be successful in achieving long-term goals.
The Massive Impact of a Little Leadership Training – Blog Post
- Click here to see a pdf version of the quadrant graph and deeper explanation of why Quadrant II is most important.
- Click here to see a worksheet to help work through your own task in the tool.
Have some time? Take a read through Stephen Covey’s classic book 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.
