Then when you are ready for the real deal, you can then use our product Priority Matrix for iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Windows. >Download the 4 Quadrant Time Management Template Here<< So how do you get started?Īt first, you can try it on paper until you become familiar with the methodology. Writing everything down help clears your mind. How often should you follow through this process? The answer varies, but I would suggest, as often as you need to. The difference is, it moves up the chain to “do-now” status only when the to do item is actually important. Recall, if it did add to something, maybe you could break it up and add the important part to the top quadrants. While this may make you feel good to get these done, ultimately, they may not add to much. Even when your top quadrants are cleared, perhaps you should take a break, rather than working on the bottom left. These are things you should explicitly avoid to do whenever possible. Quadrant 3: Not Critical (bottom left)Įverything that you could delegate, or if you feel are burdens rather than value-adding, should go here. So if you are working on a 10,000 feet project, the top right quadrant could represent tasks that are more than 3 months out. With Priority Matrix the app, you can create your project definition in a such a way that the timeline is inherited from the project definition. The criteria for consideration of what’s “far out” varies depending on your overall project scope. The important things you have to work on, but the due date is farther out. Quadrant 2: Critical, but not Due Soon (top right) The criteria in putting it here should be the value-adding tasks that drive your business and/or your life. Each day, each hour, each minute of your work should be focused on tackling issues within this quadrant. The most important things that you have to work on, especially if it’s due soon. Here’s a recap of the kind of tasks you put in each quadrant: Quadrant 1: Critical and Due Soon (top left) The 4 Quadrant Method in Detail: What are the four quadrants? In traditional linear lists, you will overburden yourself, but if you write everything down in a 4 quadrant approach, you never have to worry because your attention is, and should always be, focused on the upper left. You should never be hesitant to write down to your to dos. At the same time, the bottom right quadrant is the perfect place for you to store anything and everything that you’ve thought of. If a task has been on the bottom right for a long time, then it becomes a candidate for deletion. If you find yourself asking over and over whether you really need to do a task, it’s unlikely you should, and consider storing it on the bottom right. If you don’t have an EA, then think hard before you ever do any of those tasks. In fact, if you have an executive assistant, these are the tasks that may make perfect sense to delegate. The idea is that you never should do anything on the bottom left.

When you are done with those things, or if you are stuck with any item on the upper left, then you move to the upper right. When you start your day, you immediately know what you have to work on: the upper left.

Time management priority matrix