©Week Plan
You’ll find the activities of life can be separated into these four quadrants.
In short, the answer to time management issues is . . . live in Quadrant 2. So, the key is to maximise Quadrant 2 and minimize the rest. Let’s consider how to reduce the ‘other’ quadrants (1, 3 and 4) and then we’ll spend time on how to make the most of Quadrant 2 activities so you can leverage your time.
But just before we dive in, and as you are working, take note of the jobs you are doing and classify them – try and allocate a 1, 2, 3 or 4 (according to the quadrant descriptions in the picture above). How often are you getting to the 2s? Are you noticing any pattern in the 1s, 3s and 4s? That will be worth considering as we explore how to make you more productive and find the extra time you sense is missing.
Now let’s look at the three quadrants that distract us from the ‘important and not urgent’. i have provided a few ideas for each quadrant to provide you with an idea of how you can gain more control and reduce things that keep you away from the valuable Quadrant 2. Hopefully these ideas will provide a springboard to better manage inhibitors in your own context.
©Time Management Success
Quadrant 1: The Urgent but Important
Any patterns here? Where do they come from? Are they at a particular time of the day or week. If you recognise this, then you can shift from being reactive to putting some proactive plans in place. For example, if you notice a pattern where issues that require your attention occur late in the afternoons, then plan your focussed time in the mornings when you can get more done with less interruptions. Are your urgent jobs coming because of someone else’s poor planning? There may be a hard conversation needed.
You may need to work on your planning, especially if the urgency is coming from deadline-driven projects and last-minute preparation. Try reducing the large jobs (eg presentations and deadlines) into a series of smaller tasks and give them deadlines. Step out the larger projects so they don’t seem so large and slowly, progressively, work through the smaller jobs. Remember, this work is important . . . you want to reduce the urgency. You won’t be working as well in the urgent, so reduce tasks in this quadrant .
Quadrant 3: The Urgent but not Important:
How are these items finding their way into your schedule? You need to eradicate them as much as possible. They aren’t even important. It’s going to take some ruthless action. It’s time to develop a laser focus.
Consider building some ‘closed-door’ time into your work patterns. It may only be an hour a day, but you will notice the uninterrupted time will help you get a lot more done in a shorter time frame. The unimportant interruptions; they’ll come back later but you are sending a message to others that you need to focus for the betterment of the organization. Maybe you don’t have a door you can close. Try taking some time with headphones (get those big ones so everyone knows you have zoned out) will do the trick. Tell a colleague what you are up to and perhaps offer to cover for them while they have some closed-door time themselves.
Assess your meetings. Do you really need to be there? Who said? Is it possible to attend once a fortnight instead? Can you make the meeting more timely and efficient? I appreciate there are many meetings you are not in control of . . . but what can you control? If you recognize the meeting is not important and not helping you reach the organisation’s goals . . . what are you doing there? Who do you need to talk to?
Quadrant 4: The Not Urgent and Not Important
If the Quadrant 3 items need to be eradicated, then Quadrant 4 items also need to quickly find their way to the bin. Eradicating Quadrant 4 items should be the easiest way to find more time in your life. The trick is to identify them.
How do you waste time at work?
- What do you do that is ‘busy’ work, but perhaps not directly related to your outcomes?
- Mindlessly scanning the internet? How many times have you reached for the newsfeed today? Maybe you need some ‘stop disciplines’. That could include a period of keeping a log of how much time you are wasting scanning the internet unnecessarily.
- Perhaps responding to e mails you don’t need to
- Proofreading a colleague’s e mail or report . . . but maybe that is important?
- And maybe it is disruptive socializing. If you are reading this blog , there is every chance time management is something you recognize you need to rectify. How much time do you lose to unnecessarily socializing? Maybe there is another time for this.
In this blog we haven’t even talked about Quadrant 2. That’s because if you can minimize and manage the other three quadrants, you’ll have the quality time and space you need to drive the outcomes you desire. So, more time on how to manage Quadrant 2 to come, but for now, let’s consider how to minimize the other three quadrants.
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