first quadrant
Something urgent and important.
This kind of thing has the urgency of time and the importance of influence. It cannot be avoided or delayed. It must be dealt with first and solved first. It is manifested in the negotiation of major projects and the work of important meetings.
Second quadrant
Something important but not urgent.
These two quadrants are different from the first quadrant. The events in this quadrant are not urgent in time, but they have great influence, which is of great significance to the survival and development of individuals or enterprises and the establishment and maintenance of the surrounding environment.
The third quadrant
It doesn't matter. It is urgent.
For example, telephone calls, meetings and uninvited guests all fall into this category. On the surface, it seems to be the first quadrant, because the urgent voice will give us the illusion that "this matter is very important"-in fact, even if it is important, it is for others. We spend a lot of time in this circle, thinking that we are in the first quadrant, but actually we are just meeting other people's expectations and standards.
Quadrant four
Something not urgent or important.
Without the urgency and importance of time, this combination of events and time is simply killing time and wasting life. Being in a daze, surfing the Internet, chatting and loitering is the lifestyle of this kind of idle people. In short, it is a waste of life, so it is not worth spending any time in this quadrant.
We often run back and forth in the first quadrant and the third quadrant, and we are too busy to go to the fourth quadrant to recuperate. However, this is not all leisure activities, because truly creative leisure activities are very valuable. However, I like to watch addictive boring novels, TV programs without content, office chat and so on. This kind of rest is not only for walking a longer distance, but also harmful to body and mind. It may be interesting at first, but later you will find it is actually empty.
After understanding the four quadrants, how to use them to manage time?
1. Solve the first quadrant as soon as possible.
First of all, we must have accurate judgment ability, make sure it is both urgent and important, and then deal with it as soon as possible.
Case: a proposal worth $25,000.
There was once an efficiency research expert named April. He gave Charles, then president of Shi Kalu Iron and Steel Company, a suggestion on time management. As a result, because of this suggestion, Charlie gave Abelali a check worth $25,000. It's to thank Li for this amazing suggestion. What is this suggestion? Let's solve this mystery. It turns out that Charus is busy with complicated affairs in the company every day. He is a perfectionist, but how can he do it alone? So many things can't be done effectively in the end.
This proposal is exactly:
1. Don't try to do everything.
What you have is not necessarily the most important thing.
Write down what you must do tomorrow every night in order of importance.
Do the most important thing well the next day, and leave other things alone. After the first thing is done, do the second thing, and so on.
In the evening, it doesn't matter if you don't finish the listed things, because you have finished all the most important things, and the rest will be done tomorrow.
So, Charus tried it for a while according to Li's suggestion, but the effect was amazing. Of course, you can also try this suggestion!
2. Invest in the second quadrant
The first quadrant is very important and urgent, and people often can't do it well because of time. The things in the second quadrant are very important, and there will be enough time to prepare and do well. It can be seen that the return on investment in the second quadrant is the greatest.
Important but not urgent tasks include: problem discovery and prevention, continuous learning, team building, real and effective authorization, determining one's own personal mission, long-term career planning, personal mission, etc.
Stephen Covey pointed out in Seven Habits of Highly Effective People: We should give priority to the second quadrant. The author also suggests that we: ① list your personal/social roles, such as self, daughter (parents'), mother (children's), partner (spouse's), plumber (company's) … ② Then write down the tasks corresponding to each role this week! ……
Give priority, plan and stick to it: spend as much time as possible on important but not urgent things (the second quadrant) to reduce the workload in the first quadrant and avoid more things becoming important and urgent things.
We can make a plan to do important and non-urgent things at a fixed time every day.
Efficient people's time arrangement is to arrange 65%-80% of their time on important but not urgent work. Because they plan and plan most of the work in advance, the work in other quadrants will naturally decrease.
My suggestion is to get up 30-60 minutes early every day to deal with important and non-urgent things. Working and studying in the morning has the highest efficiency and the best memory. This can not only make rational use of time, reduce important and urgent things, but also help us get up early and go to bed early, which is also very beneficial to our health.
Step out of the third quadrant
People often fall into the third quadrant, it is difficult to get out, and it takes a long time to get results.
Authorize to do it: The principle of dealing with urgent but unimportant things is to authorize others to do it.
How can we achieve good authorization?
Stephen Covey also pointed out in Seven Habits of Highly Effective People: What we should do is responsible authorization. What is the result of good communication between the two sides? Give each other some guidance based on resources and traps rather than specific matters, and clarify responsibilities and rewards and punishments.
4. Give up the fourth quadrant
People often fall into the fourth quadrant and cannot extricate themselves. Watch TV, follow the drama, read novels and brush the mobile phone.
Do less, don't do: try not to do those meaningless things. Use the time saved to do important and non-urgent things. For example: charging, reading, learning new skills, fitness. Even if you persist for 30 minutes every day, after one year, the gains will be enormous.
Well, after introducing the four-quadrant rule and how to use it for time management, what inspiration do you have?
Your today was decided by you ten years ago, and now it is decided by you ten years later. Think about what we do the most every day. Which quadrant is it? Think about how to manage your time to make yourself more valuable.
Now, do you have the urge to make your own schedule to manage your time immediately? If so, let's do it! You are only a short distance from the life you want.