Urgent vs. Important

Use Time Effectively, 

Not Just Efficiently Not Just Efficiently

Time stressors are some of the Time stressors are some of the 
most pervasive sources of 
pressure and stress in the 
workplace, and they happen 
as a result of having too much 
 to do in too little time.

With this kind of
pressure all too pressure all too
common, effective
time management time management
is an absolute
it necessity.



You probably 
 use a day‐
planner and to‐ 
do list to manage 
your time your time. 

These tools are certainly helpful,
but they don't allow you to drill
down to one of the most essential down to one of the most essential
elements of good time

Management: 

 distinguishing between what is
important and what is urgent.

Great time management means 
being effective as well as efficient.

Managing time effectively, and
achieving the things that you want achieving the things that you want
to achieve, means spending your
time on things that are important
and not just urgent.

To do this, and to minimize the 
 stress of having too many tight 
deadlines.

We need to distinguish clearly
 between what is urgent and what is
important.

Important activities have an 
outcome that leads to the 
achievement of your goals.

Urgent activities demand immediate 

attention, and are usually associated 

 with the achievement of someone else's 

goals, or with an uncomfortable problem 

or situation that needs to be resolved.

Urgent activities are often the ones  g

we concentrate on

These are the 
"squeaky wheels that get the grease." 

They demand attention because the
 consequences of not dealing with
them are immediate.

The Urgent vs. Important
Matrix is a useful tool for thinking
about this.

Ho to Use the Tool

 The Urgent/Important Matrix
is a powerful way of thinking
about priorities.

Using it helps you overcome the
natural tendency to focus on urgent
activities, so that you can keep
enough time clear to focus on
what's really important.

This is the way you move from
"firefighting" into a position where
you can grow your business and
your career.

How to use this matrix 
to prioritize your activities: 

Firstly, list all of the activities and
projects you feel you have to do.

Try to include everything that takes
 up your time at work, however
unimportant.

If you manage your time using an
Action Program, you'll already have
done this.

Next, assign importance to each of
the activities

You can do this on, say, a scale of 1
to 5: Remember, this is a measure of
how important the activity is in
helping you meet your goals and
objectives.

Try not to worry about urgency
at this stage as this helps get to
the true importance.

Once you have assigned
importance to each activity ,
evaluate the urgency of each
activity.

As you do this, you can plot the
listed items on the matrix
 according to the assigned
importance and urgency.

Now study the matrix using the
guidelines below, and schedule your
work according to your priorities.

Urgent and Not Important 

("Interruptions"): 

Urgent but not important activities can
be a constant source of interruption.

Ask yourself whether these tasks can be
rescheduled, or whether someone else could
do them.

Sometimes it's appropriate to say "No" to
people, or encourage them to solve the
problem themselves.

Alternatively try allocating time when you are
("Interruptions"):
Alternatively, try allocating time when you are
available, so that people only interrupt you at
certain times (a good way of doing this is to
schedule a regular meeting so that all issues can be
dealt with at the same time).

By doing this, the flow of work on your
important activities will be less disrupted.

These are the activities that you can plan
ahead for to achieve your goals and complete
your work.



Make sure that you have plenty of time to
achieve these, so that they do not become
urgent.

Remember to leave enough time in your
schedule to deal with unforeseen problems.

This will maximize your chances of keeping on
schedule, and help you avoid the stress of
work becoming more urgent that necessary.

Not Urgent and Not Important 
("Distractions"):

These activities are just a distraction, and
should be avoided if possible.

Some can simply be ignored. Others are
activities that other people want you to do,
but they do not contribute to your own
desired outcomes.

Again, say "No" politely and firmly where this
is appropriate.

If people see you are clear about your
objectives and boundaries, they will often not
ask you to do "not important" activities in
future.

Thank you,