Time Management Matrix
Time management solutions are a helpful
antidote to days filled with increasingly blurred
deadlines, incessant noise, and excessive
disruptions. Today, one of the biggest business
challenges (and personal challenges, too), is how
we can decide what is urgent and what’s not.
Once we clear that hurdle, procrastination melts
away, and things start getting done.
Think of a task you need to do today. How do
you decide when you’ll get it done, given all the
competition from other items on your to-do list?
Use this Time Management Matrix to help you figure it out Where you decide your task falls within a specific
quadrant dictates where, when, and how long you should take to do that task.
Quadrant 1 – “Do it immediately”
Type: Urgent and important
These are the tasks and to-dos that need immediate attention. They are very important deadlines with the
highest level of urgency.
Quadrant 2 – “Decide when you’ll do it”
Type: Important, but not urgent
This is considered a strategic section of the matrix, perfect for long-term development. Items that belong here
are important, but they do not require your immediate attention.
Quadrant 3 – “Delegate to somebody else”
Type: Urgent, but not important
Phone calls, emails, and last-minute meeting requests belong in this quadrant. These types of tasks usually don’t
warrant your attention because they don’t produce measurable output. The goal with these tasks is to make an
attempt at eliminating and reducing the things that don’t help you do work.
For some, delegation can be an attractive option by offloading work to others so that the calls, emails, and
requests can still be handled, freeing you to focus on things that matter in other quadrants.
Quadrant 4 – “Do it later”
Type: Not important, not urgent
Activities that belong in this quadrant are the time-sucking things that don’t contribute any value whatsoever.
Simply put, this is the stuff of procrastination—the time-wasters that prevent us from accomplishing the more
urgent and important tasks in the first two quadrants. It’s best for you to see them in this quadrant so you can
work hard at completely eliminating them from your workday.
Choose your own color
To add a new dimension to your matrix, assign each of the sections in your system a color. Assign each color
priority level. For example:
Red = urgent: Do this task immediately
Yellow = important, but it’s not super urgent: Decide when you need to do it and commit to the date.
Green = urgent, not important: Delegate this task!
Grey = not urgent, not important: Dump this task!
Marjorie Young-Krauss
mykrauss@[Link]
[Link]/coachmarj
Time Management Matrix
Urgent Not Urgent
Crisis, Pressing issues, Deadlines Planning, Preparation, Prevention, Relationship
Building, Personal Development
Important
Interruptions, Some Email/Meetings/Calls Some Emails/Meetings/Calls, Social Media,
Perfectionism/Over-analysis
Not Important
Marjorie Young-Krauss
mykrauss@[Link]
[Link]/coachmarj