When you’re busy rushing from one task to the next, juggling multiple activities at once, it’s easy to get side-tracked into focusing on the small items, rather than the big goals. The solution is simple, learn to prioritise the important tasks. How to go about it in a planned and meticulous way is what this post talks about.

One of the most popular frameworks for time management was put forth by Stephen Covey in his bestseller, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”. As you go through the framework, you’ll gain a better understanding of one of the ideas we had introduced in an earlier post – time is allocation.

Basically, you need to divide your tasks into four quadrants based on two factors – urgency and importance (Yes/No). Once you map it this way, it becomes much easier to have perspective on where you need to reallocate time. The following examples should bring more clarity regarding tasks that fit into the four quadrants, and how you should go about dealing with them.

• Not urgent, not important – Drop it – Gossiping, chitchatting
• Urgent but not important – Delegate it – Chores that are not specific to you
• Important but not urgent – Schedule it – Exercise, hobbies, tasks that require focus
• Urgent and important – Do it now – Examinations, crisis scenarios

Your urgent but not so important tasks can usually be done by someone else and are hence best delegated. On the other hand, activities like exercise and meditation are important for a healthy lifestyle, but not urgent for you to complete right away. They are meaningful for us even though they don’t generate immediate results. These are best scheduled for when you have the time.

While this way of thinking is very useful and effective, it poses the question – what about activities like catching up with good friends or relaxing by watching some Netflix? These may not necessarily be important or urgent, but they engage the lighter side of our lives as humans, and help keep things balanced overall.

Ankur Warikoo added another dimension to this framework to tackle such activities that don’t fall in any of the four quadrants at first glance. He advises us to ask ourselves the question – does this task take up a significant amount of time? The answer to that should help you prioritise and decide whether to drop the task or not.

To begin utilising this grid system, you need to audit your time. What we measure, we usually tend to improve. Start by noting down the time taken for different activities in your day. Do this for 2-3 days after which you should reflect on where you are spending most of your time. The next step, after sufficient reflection, is to improve your time allocation.

Keep this framework handy and see how it brings visible improvement to your day-to-day schedule and life. In the upcoming post, we’ll explore the second principle – time is energy. Keep reading and implementing these practical tips and time management techniques in your life.