The right thing at the right time…
Now that you know your natural productivity style and have devised a rough time blocking schedule for the day. It is time to make sure that you are filling it with the right stuff. We often spend our time firefighting or dealing with shallow tasks which detracts from the really important stuff. This simple time management matrix, adapted from Stephen Covey’s 7 habits of highly effective people can help you to focus on the real priorities.
| ## | ## Urgent | ## Not Urgent |
|---|---|---|
| ## Important | ## Firefighting Crisis Pressing problems Deadline driven Important meetings | ## Meaningful Work Preparation Planning Relationship Building Personal development |
| ## Not Important | ## Shallow Work Some emails and phone calls Many interruptions Some meetings | ## Time wasting Trivial busy work Junk email Some Phone calls ‘Escape’ Activities |
Use the above matrix to help categorise your to do list. Then start scheduling your time blocks prioritising meaningful work inline with your productivity cycle. Schedule your shallow work for the time of day where your productivity cycle dips but make sure you leave time for the inevitable fire fighting.
The stuff in the time wasting box… ditch it.
