Tweet

How to Use the Time Management Matrix

Guest post by: Michael O'Grady

Article Overview: One of the most challenging things to do effectively in any career, especially sales, is manage your time. You have to keep focused on what the best use of your time is at any given moment. Improper use or mis-management of your time can result in the loss of possibly thousands of dollars in sales volume and as a direct result, your commission suffers.

How to Use the Time Management Matrix

One of the most challenging things to do effectively in any career, especially sales, is manage your time. You have to keep focused on what the best use of your time is at any given moment. Improper use or mis-management of your time can result in the loss of possibly thousands of dollars in sales volume and as a direct result, your commission suffers.

In Stephen Covey's "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" he teaches of a time management matrix. Imagine a square, then draw a cross through the square separating it into four quadrants.

Quadrant One is labeled "important and urgent". These are typically problems, emergencies, important meetings or tasks which by necessity must be dealt with immediately because of how they impact your operation.

Quadrant Two is labeled "important but not urgent". These are tasks that contribute to your goals and plans in work and life. The things you place in this quadrant are things that add quality to your life, prevent crisis and are important enough to spend your time on without distractions of day-to-day.

Quadrant Three is labeled "not important but urgent"; that is, urgent on the part of other people. The phone that keeps ringing, the high priority emails, the interruption by individuals looking to pass off their responsibility - these are quadrant three items.

Quadrant Four is labeled "not important and not urgent". Meetings with no agenda, disorganized days that seem to go by quickly with no feeling of accomplishment, excessive television watching, and repeated complaints about the same issues.

Using the matrix, the goal of your day should be to get as many Quadrant Two tasks completed as possible. The more tasks you complete in Quadrant Two, the less time you will spend on tasks in Quadrant One. Emergencies and problems will still occur, but they will likely happen less often when you spend your day focused your goals.

You will find that there is virtually nothing of any value in Quadrant Three and Quadrant Four. Learn to say "no" with a smile on your face and/or delegate these items. (Don't confuse leisure and rest with Quadrant Four).

PracticeStephen Covey's time management matrix, and it will change the way you manage your work and your life.

Related Articles
  Matrix Organization - Possible in China?
  Video Matrix Switch: Creates a Web like Pattern of Connections between Sources and Displays
  Matrix management: Scheduling your resources in a complicated world
  Getting Paid 6 People at a Time: The Pyxism Compensation Structure
  Examine Buy In with Stakeholder Analysis
  Evaluating Candidate Interviews
  Develop your Team’s Strategic Skill-Set
  KVM Matrix Switch: Allows multiple Users to control multiple Servers
  Develop Leaders with Succession Planning
  How to manage risk (but don’t stifle innovation)
  Opening a New Office Location
  Working Effectively in a Matrix: Tips for Building and Sustaining Cooperation
  Get What You Need From Your Matrix Partners: Five Guidelines for Influencing in a Matrix Structure
  How To Find A Long-Lasting Home Based MLM Business Opportunity
  MANAGING RISK
  Video Switch: Route video from multiple sources to a single display
  Success Or Failure?
  ESCAPE THE MATRIX PROGRAMED INTO US
  Assess Advertising Concept Effectiveness
  Lean your Training, Don't start with a blank piece of paper

Article Tags: sales techniques, stephen covey, time management, time management matrix



Related Forum Posts
No B.S. Time Management - A great book I read on Time Management is No B.S. Time Management for Entrepreneurs by Dan Kennedy.
Your Intial Mistakes Business - Hi, When I started my business I had made a lot of mistakes initially. These helped me in learning the art of the trade and today when I look back, I feel that these mistakes were quite silly. I had made my learnings then and those learnings have helped me time and again. Some of the mistakes I made were - i. Wrong Time Management ii. Wasting money on glossy Brochures and Business cards iii. Believing what they taught me at school was 100% correct iv. Giving too much when it was not required...... I would like to find out what have been your faltering moments in Business when you had started and what/how did they help you grow. Regards
Re: UPDATES: New Campaign! New Layout! New Ideas! - We've also expanded the list for Contest and All-Time Leaders. It's great to now see David and Yinka on the All Time list and recognize the contributions they've made to the forums!
Which kind of industries are you interested in? - Ecological or E-business or Investment or Finance or Management or Non-Profit or Retailer or others.
Books that should be written - [quote:1m0dcpd7]"The Idiots Guide To Sticking With One Thing At A Time and Not Doing Something New All The Time" [/quote:1m0dcpd7] I myself am a 'constructive' procrastinator... I don't know if I'm alone in this. I have about six or seven projects I'm working on at any given time. I get one project almost done... then my interest is piqued by another project and I work on that... I get burnt out and move to another...I know I do this so I have it arranged such that once I get bored or burnt out with one project, I can step right back into project 1 - or 2 or 3, and get that a little bit more done before moving on to something else. As long as you're organized and know where all your reference material/idea sheets are when you're ready to get back to work on each project, it should be fine. I also find that by stepping away from a project - I still work on it in the recesses of my mind so that when I go back to it - it's with some good ideas that I wouldn't have had if I'd continued on with it originally. Maybe I should write a book on how to Procrastinate Constructively... I've actually thought about doing that...because most people procrastinate, don't they...and very few are ever able to stop.


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

How to Improve Your Time Management

When Living the Dream isn't enough!

Web Design in 30 Minutes - Can this be Right?

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.