topic: Time Management

Time management is an essential skill to master when tackling projects and working toward long-term goals. Planning out how to make the best use of time helps to increase productivity, efficiency, and overall effectiveness.

Types of Tasks

Important Tasks

  • Contribute to long-term goals
  • Are executed in a responsive mode
  • Responsive mode: Calm, rational, open to new opportunities

Urgent Tasks

  • Require immediate attention
  • Places us in a reactive mode
  • Reactive mode: Defensive, negative, hurried, narrow-minded

The Urgent Important Matrix

Matrix

Quadrant 1 - Urgent and Important

  • Can include tasks that have reached a point of crisis such as client complaints, deadlines, and urgent meetings
  • Spend more time tackling Non-Urgent and Important tasks

Quadrant 2 - Non-Urgent and Important

  • Tasks such as planning, team-building, and issue-prevention which help to achieve larger goals
  • Invest most of time into tasks within this quadrant

Quadrant 3 - Urgent and Not Important

  • Tasks that distrtact from larger, more important goals such as emails, meetings, or phone calls
  • Spend least amount of time working on tasks from this quadrant

Quadrant 4 - Non-Urgent and Not Important

  • Unproductive activities such as the use of social media, watching TV, or surfing the internet
  • Remove these tasks in order to increase the time spent on other tasks

Time Management Strategies

Behaviors to Adopt

  • Create a to-do list
  • Set personal goals
  • 1:3:5 Rule
  • Prioritize tasks
  • Work smarter, not harder

Behaviors to Avoid

  • Procrastination
  • Getting distracted from goals
  • Taking on too much work
  • Multitasking
  • Forgetting to take breaks

Additional Resources to Review

Reference:

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