http://forums.thinkarete.com/forums/the-big-ideas/topics/stephen-covey-quadrant-ii en-us 60 <p align="center">&nbsp;</p><p align="center">&ldquo;<em>Effective people stay out of Quadrants III and IV because, urgent or not, they aren&rsquo;t important. They also shrink Quadrant I down to size by spending more time in Quadrant II&hellip;</em></p><p align="center"><em>Quadrant II is the heart of effective personal management.&rdquo;</em></p><p align="center">&nbsp;</p><p align="center">&hellip;</p><p align="center">&nbsp;</p><p align="center">&ldquo;<em>What one thing could you do in your personal and professional life that, if you did on a regular basis, would make a tremendous positive difference in your life? Quadrant II activities have that kind of impact. Our effectiveness takes quantum leaps when we do them.&rdquo;</em></p><p align="center">~ Stephen R. Covey</p><p align="center">from &ldquo;The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People&rdquo;</p><p>Stephen Covey has a 4-quadrant model for time management.</p><dl><dd><table width="479" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="7" bordercolor="#000000" border="1"> <col width="19"></col> <col width="208"></col> <col width="208"></col> <tbody> <tr valign="top"> <td width="19"> </td> <td width="208"> <p><strong>Urgent</strong></p> </td> <td width="208"> <p><strong>Not Urgent</strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="19" height="62"> <p><strong>Important</strong></p> </td> <td width="208" valign="top"> <p>Quadrant I</p> <p><em>Time Spent In: </em>Fire drills, Crises, Deadline-driven projects</p> <p><em>Results</em>: Stress, burnout, always putting out fires</p> </td> <td width="208" valign="top"> <p>Quadrant II</p> <p><em>Time Spent In: </em>Self-Development, Relationship building, Envisioning your future, Exercise/Recreation</p> <p><em>Results</em>: Happiness :)</p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="19" height="61"> <p><strong>Not Important</strong></p> </td> <td width="208" valign="top"> <p>Quadrant III</p> <p><em>Time Spent In: </em>Interruptions, Unscheduled phone calls, pressing stuff</p> <p><em>Results</em>: short-term focus, thinks goals and plans are worthless</p> </td> <td width="208" valign="top"> <p>Quadrant IV</p> <p><em>Time Spent In: </em>Distractions, Wasting time, Busy work, Pleasant Activities</p> <p><em>Results: </em>Getting fired, total irresponsibility</p> </td> </tr> </tbody></table></dd></dl><p>Notice the two factors that define an activity in this model: <em>Is it urgent?</em> And, <em>Is it important?</em></p><p>Pretty straight-forward. Urgent means it&rsquo;s demanding our attention (NOW!) Important means it&rsquo;s worth doing.</p><p>Take a very close look at Quadrant II: the Important but Not Urgent stuff.</p><p>We want to play there.</p><p>Unfortunately, most of us don&rsquo;t spend anywhere near enough time there&mdash;we&rsquo;re dancing in and out of the other 3 quadrants: distracting ourselves (IV), allowing interruptions to pester us throughout the day (III), or putting out one fire-drill-crisis after another (I). </p><p>Eek.</p><p>Take a deep breath.</p><p>Take an inventory of where you&rsquo;re currently spending the most time. What % do you spend where?</p><p>Find (make that, SCHEDULE!) time to play in Quadrant II (even that activity will be a Q II activity :)). </p><p>Exercise. Spend time in self-development. Develop yourself and your relationships.</p><p>&hellip;</p><p>See ya in Quadrant II, my friend!</p><p>&hellip;</p><p>&ldquo;<em>Effective people are not problem-minded; they&rsquo;re opportunity-minded.&rdquo;</em></p> Fri, 11 Jan 2008 22:43:14 -0000 forums.thinkarete.com:503:231:231 brian http://forums.thinkarete.com/forums/503/topics/231