Adapted from

Stephen Covey’s

First Things First

&

The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People

IMPORTANT AND URGENT IMPORTANT BUT NOT URGENT

NOT IMPORTANT BUT URGENT NOT IMPORTANT / NOT URGENT

I - IMPORTANT AND URGENT II - IMPORTANT BUT NOT URGENT

III - NOT IMPORTANT BUT URGENT IV - NOT IMPORTANT / NOT URGENT

MANAGE

•Crises•Report out meetings•Deadlines•To-do activities•Last minute details•Short-term goals•Requests for Proposals•Intervention

FOCUS

•Developmental activities•Thinking•Planning•Systemic interventions•Long-term goals•Assessment•Relationships•Research

AVOID

•Unscreened mail, telephone calls, e-mails, and texts•Requests to do someone else’s work•Routine reports•Surfing the web

AVOID

•Interruptions•Busywork•Junk mail, telephone calls, e-mails, and texts•Unrealistic goals

IMPORTANT AND URGENTIMPORTANT AND URGENTQUADRANT OF NECESSITYQUADRANT OF NECESSITY

• This quadrant represents activities that are necessary for us to focus on, because they are urgent (time-sensitive) AND important to us.

• The need to do these activities makes itself known to us. They are hard to ignore because our life experiences have taught us that when we ignore them, we get into trouble.

IMPORTANT BUT NOT URGENTIMPORTANT BUT NOT URGENTQuadrant of Quality and ValueQuadrant of Quality and Value

• These activities are important, but because they are not urgent, they are easy to put on the back burner for “when we have more time.”

• The more time we spend in this quadrant, the more quality we add to our lives.

• If we neglect these activities long enough, they may become “urgent.” Example: Because we don’t eat right, we develop a health issue.

• In order to focus on these activities, we must have a framework for effective decision-making about how to spend our time. We must be proactive.

NOT IMPORTANT BUT URGENTNOT IMPORTANT BUT URGENTQuadrant of DeceptionQuadrant of Deception

• These activities are not important, but they are urgent (time-sensitive).

• We are deceived into thinking these activities are important because they are urgent.

• We can say no, or renegotiate, or delegate.• We may be “urgency addicted”—a self-

destructive habit that temporarily fills a void created by unmet needs.

• Issues like insecurity, need for control, and perfectionism may compel us to place undue importance on matters and to go into more detail than we need to in handling them.

NOT IMPORTANT / NOT URGENTNOT IMPORTANT / NOT URGENTQuadrant of WasteQuadrant of Waste

• These activities are neither important nor urgent.

• These are often escape activities—an escape from reality when stress is too high, but with no resolution to the problem.

• Again, issues like perfectionism & the need to control may make both non-urgent & non-important issues seem urgent and important.

• We can get caught up in trivia and busywork.

THE GOAL IS TO…

Manage activities in Quadrant 1—

Important and Urgent

Focus on activities in Quadrant II—

Important but not Urgent

Say no to, renegotiate, delegate

activities in Quadrant III—

Not Important but Urgent

Avoid activities in Quadrant IV—

Not Important / Not Urgent

"If you keep doing what you're doing, you'll keep getting what you're getting”!

Stephen Covey