Lets refresh ourselves and take a look at the Time Management Matrix.

As you can see, all activities in our day and life can fit into these 4 quadrants. All our time is spent in one of the four ways.

QUADRANT 1

This contains all those activities that are urgent as well as important. Every morning when we wake up we usually have a plan for the day (provided we are aware of the importance of having clear goals), we could call it our “to do list”. We priorities our time and activities keeping this plan in mind. But are we able to stick to our “to do list”? Quite often not! This is simply because something or the other crops up suddenly that cannot be avoided. It requires immediate attention, making even the best laid out plans go awry! We could label these unexpected events or disturbances as “crises” that activate our instinct for survival and we switch to “fire fighting operation” mode.

Example: Suppose, you are proceeding as per your plan, your day is progressing smoothly with all meetings on schedule. Suddenly the phone rings informing you that a close friend has met with an accident. Now this is important as well as urgent and requires immediate attention from you. You could substitute innumerable examples (instead of this one) that have the power to throw your schedule into disarray- an important business client could demand your immediate presence, a request you would not like to refuse for fear of losing him, or you could simply fall sick!

Bottom line: Every person is bound to spend a part of his day in crises management. Q1 cannot be planned, and it cannot be avoided. Yes, it causes maximum stress.

QUADRANT 2

This quadrant contains those activities that are important but not urgent. What are these important but not urgent activities?

Self Development

As you grow professionally and move up the career ladder you need to upgrade your skills to meet the requirements of the higher position in the organization. But you need time to learn these new skills. Since this is important but not urgent you may postpone learning to the next week, fortnight, or month. I am sure this is a familiar scenario, one you can easily identify with, where because of other priorities you don’t manage to find the time to learn these skills. What will be the impact of this non-action on your life? Nothing. At least in the present there will be no adverse consequence. You could give yourself a simple test, try and recall the number of books you have read in the last 90 days or the management development or life skill programs you have attended in the last 6 months. Or recollect how much money you have saved and invested in the last few years that you have been working. If these numbers don’t change, your life won’t change either.

Family

Its true that most of our time is spent at work, but how important would you rate your “family” in terms of time that should be devoted to it? I am sure everyone would agree that family is important but is it urgent as well? Lets imagine another scenario where we neglect the family. Immediately there shall be no noticeable change in our life. It takes a long time for the cracks to become visible and family members to distance themselves from each other before the family breaks down completely. However it is a certainty that any strain on the family front is bound to affect your productivity and eventually your professional life. The two are closely interlinked.

Physical

In America, it is believed that if you have not had your first heart attack before 40 years of age you are not a successful person. “Health is wealth” is a popular old saying. Of course you don’t agree with that! Again it is important to pay attention to physical fitness but is not considered urgent. If we do not take out time for regular exercise, in the short run there shall be no effect on out life. However sooner or later our body will start to protest and our health will break down.

Social and Mental/Spiritual

Man is a social animal. We have certain responsibilities towards society of which we are a part and we also acknowledge the need to give back to society. Though important it is not considered urgent. Similarly any efforts made by us towards out spiritual growth are important but are not considered urgent.

Bottomline

Ponder over your activities of the day and work out the amount of time you spend in quadrant Q2. There is a direct relationship between the time spent in Q2 and our quality of life. The lesser the time spent in this quadrant the poorer will be our quality of life.

QUADRANT Q3

This quadrant contains activities that are urgent but not important.

Drop-in visitors The day may be progressing smoothly as per plan, when an old friend drops in for a visit. All work comes to a stand still; it is urgent to attend to him and look after him although the purpose of his visit may not be important.

Phone calls You are immersed in work when the phone rings, this requires your immediate attention (urgent) but may or may not be important.
Mails Internet has revolutionized communication, open your mailbox and you find it full of unsolicited, junk mail. Majority of the mail may not be important but nevertheless it takes time to dispose them off.

Bottom line

Ponder over your activities of the day and work out the amount of time you spend in quadrant Q3.

QUADRANT 4

This contains activities that are neither urgent nor important such as gossiping, useless discussion, watching TV and other similar time wasting activities.

Bottom line

Ponder over your activities of the day and work out the amount of time you spend in quadrant Q4.

CONCLUSION

Q1 is unavoidable; it should not consume more than 20% of your time. The acceptable level is up to 20%.

Q2 Your maximum time (40%-60%) should go into this quadrant. The best part is that it can be planned and in case of crises can be easily postponed. However, if you spend less time in Q2 then it becomes Q1. Research shows that successful people spend majority of their time in Q2.

Q3 This is actually a routine job that can easily be delegated to other people. Successful people take out their time from Q3 by delegation and spend that extra time in Q2.

Q4 Warning: This quadrant cannot be eliminated totally. To be successful and lead a peaceful life one should try and spend as little time as possible here.