Stephen Covey’s Priority Matrix
A powerful time management tool that can help you prioritise tasks and make the most of your limited time.
“Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least. —Goethe1
This is the quote Steven Covey opens up with the section on Habit 3: Put first things first in his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. This sets the tone for what’s to come in the following pages.
This is the idea behind today’s post on the Priority Matrix, a handy tool for making the most of your time by prioritising your tasks.
But before we get into the details of the priority matrix, let’s start with two questions Covey listed right at the start of the third part of chapter two. He considers the answers to these questions important as you work through Habit 3.
Question 1: What one thing could you do (you aren’t doing now) that if you did on a regular basis, would make a tremendous positive difference in your personal life?
Question 2: What one thing in your business or professional life would bring similar results?2
You can use Habit 3 without reading a book; however, it is essential to understand the gists of Habit 1 and 2 for clarity.
According to Covey, “Habit 3 is the personal fruit, the practical fulfilment of Habits 1 and 2”.
Habit 1 says, “You’re the creator. You are in charge.” It’s based on the four unique human endowments of imagination, conscience, independent will, and, particularly, self-awareness. It empowers you to say, “That’s an unhealthy program I’ve been given from my childhood, from my social mirror. I don’t like that ineffective script. I can change.”
Habit 2 is the first or mental creation. It’s based on imagination—the ability to envision, to see the potential, to create with our minds what we cannot at present see with our eyes; and conscience—the ability to detect our own uniqueness and the personal, moral, and ethical guidelines within which we can most happily fulfill it. It’s the deep contact with our basic paradigms and values and the vision of what we can become.
Habit 3, then, is the second creation, the physical creation. It’s the fulfillment, the actualization, the natural emergence of Habits 1 and 2. It’s the exercise of independent will toward becoming principle-centered. It’s the day-in, day-out, moment-by-moment doing it.3
Of course, according to Covey, Habits 1 and 2 are absolutely essential and prerequisites to Habit 3. Habit 3—by practising effective self-management.
This, in essence, means that while Habits 1 and 2 focus on goal-setting and clarifying your vision, Habit 3 provides more practical ways to make that vision a reality.
Habit 3 focuses more on self-management, and the priority matrix is another tool for executing your plans.
“The ability to manage well doesn’t make much difference if you’re not even in the “right jungle.” But if you are in the right jungle, it makes all the difference.”4
To make any time management tool useful, you first need to identify your focus. Adjust your focus to identify the most important and urgent. Direct your attention to what matters most.
Covey considered himself a longtime student of this fascinating field. He explains that he was personally persuaded that the essence of the best thinking in time management could be captured in a single phrase: organise and execute around priorities.
He explains: “That phrase represents the evolution of three generations of time management theory, and how to best do it is the focus of a wide variety of approaches and materials.”5
“In time management, each generation builds on the one before it—each one moves us toward greater control of our lives. The first wave or generation could be characterized by
notes and checklists
, an effort to give some semblance of recognition and inclusiveness to the many demands placed on our time and energy. The second generation could be characterized bycalendars and appointment books
. This wave reflects an attempt to look ahead, to schedule events and activities in the future. The third generation reflects the current time management field. It adds to those preceding generationsthe important idea of prioritization, of clarifying values, and of comparing the relative worth of activities based on their relationship to those values.
In addition,it focuses on setting goals
—specific long-, intermediate-, and short-term targets toward which time and energy would be directed in harmony with values. It also includes the concept of daily planning, of making a specific plan to accomplish those goals and activities determined to be of greatest worth. While the third generation has made a significant contribution, people have begun to realize that“efficient” scheduling
and control of time are often counterproductive. The efficiency focus creates expectations that clash with the opportunities to develop rich relationships, to meet human needs, and toenjoy spontaneous moments on a daily basis
. As a result, many people have become turned off by time management programs and planners.”6
“But there is an emerging fourth generation that is different in kind. It recognizes that “time management” is really a misnomer—the challenge is
not to manage time, but to manage ourselves.
”7
We spend time in one of four ways.
The Priority Matrix uses a four-square grid to categorise your tasks or activities according to:
👉 The amount of EFFORT involved in completing it
👉 The positive IMPACT, once completed
Using these two criteria helps you identify highly productive Quick Wins, minimise distractions and the impact of Filler Tasks. It’ll also help you determine which tasks you should avoid; these are often grouped in the quadrant titled Thankless Tasks.
He explains that
"Urgent matters are usually visible. They press on us; they insist on action."
"Importance, on the other hand, has to do with results. If something is important, it contributes to your mission, your values, your high priority goals."
“We react to urgent matters. Important matters that are not urgent require more initiative, more proactivity.”8
Covey explains that we all have some Quadrant I activities in our lives. These are often called “crises” or “problems.” But some people are consumed by them.
“The only relief they have is in escaping to the not important, not urgent activities of Quadrant IV. So when you look at their total matrix, 90 percent of their time is in Quadrant I and most of the remaining 10 percent is in Quadrant IV.”9
The Time management matrix’s four grids:
🏆 Quick Wins (High Impact, Low Effort)
Quick wins are tasks or projects that give you a good return for relatively little effort. Because they are critical and urgent, do these tasks first.
→ These often consist of crises, pressing problems or deadline-driven projects.
Covey argues that this is how people who manage their lives by crisis live:
📉 Major Projects (High Impact, High Effort)
Major projects give good returns, but they are time-consuming. Working on significant projects represents opportunity cost, meaning investing time into them leaves you little time to pursue other tasks/ projects or activities and quick wins. For these tasks, you must set deadlines and build checkpoints into your schedule.
→ These often consist of crisis prevention, relationship building, planning or recognising new opportunities.
🗞️ Fill-Ins (Low Impact, Low Effort)
These are the sorts of activities you want to delegate or pick up later in the day when your brain power is at its lower capacity. Because these tasks need less brain power, you want to avoid completing them earlier in the day when your brain is fresh and active. These tasks should either be delegated or declined.
→ These often consist of interruptions, some calls and emails, some reports and meetings, pressing matters and popular activities.
People who spend a great deal of time in “urgent but not important”, e.g., Quadrant III, spend most of their time reacting to urgent things, assuming they are also important. In reality, the urgency of these tasks is based on the priorities and expectations of others.
🗑️ Thankless Tasks (Low Impact, High Effort)
Avoid these tasks and activities. They yield little return and take up time that you could be using on quick wins. Schedule them for later or eliminate them.
→ These often consist of busy work, some emails and phone calls, time wasters and pleasant activities.
How to use the priority matrix
To use the priority matrix, you need to follow these steps:
Start by drawing four quadrants onto a clean sheet of paper and creating your ‘To-do list’ or ‘Wishlist’ by noting down all the major activities you want or need to complete.
Score these on IMPACT from 0 (for no impact) to 10 (for maximum effect) and on EFFORT involved from 0 (for no real effort) to 10 (for a significant effort).
Based on your assigned scores, categories and place these activities on the priority matrix.
Prioritise appropriately and delegate or eliminate low-impact activities.
Do you remember the two questions from the start of this post? Knowing what you know now about Covey’s Habit 3 and The time management matrix, review these and see if your answers match the first ones.
Covey included a personal example when he asked a group of shopping centre managers the following question.
“If you were to do one thing in your professional work that you know would have enormously positive effects on the results, what would it be?”10
After analysing the time these shopping centre managers were spending on that activity, the results were appalling. They spent only 5% of their time on what they believed would enormously positively affect the results.
That’s bonkers.
Well, actually, many of us do the same daily.
There’s a good reason for it— problems, putting out fires, crises, emergencies. All the activities that are imposed as URGENT matters.
Covery continues: “They had good reasons—problems, one right after another. They had reports to make out, meetings to go to, correspondence to answer, phone calls to make, constant interruptions. Quadrant I had consumed them.”11
And what is the solution?
“You have to be proactive in working on Quadrant II because Quadrants I and III work on you. To say “yes” to important Quadrant II priorities, you have to learn to say “no” to other activities, sometimes apparently urgent things.”12
And that brings us to the crucial difference between Eisenhower’s principle and Covey’s priority matrix.
Most would argue that Covey popularised Eisenhower’s principle, where, in fact, he contradicted Eisenhower’s focus on Urgency and importance because these tasks are more about reaction than prevention.
Covey writes: “I believe that if you were to ask what lies in Quadrant II and cultivate the proactivity to go after it, you would find the same results. Your effectiveness would increase dramatically. Your crises and problems would shrink to manageable proportions because you would be thinking ahead, working on the roots, doing the preventive things that keep situations from developing into crises in the first place.”13
“The enemy of the “best” is often the “good.”14
This week, if you struggle with workload and feel like ‘you bit off more than you could chew…’ or when EVERYTHING seems to be a priority, here are two things you can do:
Download my priority matrix workbook and use the tool to organise and prioritise your tasks.
Lastly, you can leave me a comment below. Which prioritising tool do you use, and why precisely that one? Or, if you use a tool I have not listed, would you share it with my readers?
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (p. 152). RosettaBooks - A. Kindle Edition.
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (p. 152). RosettaBooks - A. Kindle Edition.
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (pp. 152-153). RosettaBooks - A. Kindle Edition.
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (pp. 152-153). RosettaBooks - A. Kindle Edition.
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (pp. 152-153). RosettaBooks - A. Kindle Edition.
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (pp. 152-153). RosettaBooks - A. Kindle Edition.
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (pp. 152-153). RosettaBooks - A. Kindle Edition.
Covey, Stephen R.. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change (p. 158). RosettaBooks - A. Kindle Edition.
Covey, Stephen R.. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change (p. 158). RosettaBooks - A. Kindle Edition.
Covey, Stephen R.. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change (p. 162). RosettaBooks - A. Kindle Edition.
Covey, Stephen R.. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change (p. 162). RosettaBooks - A. Kindle Edition.
Covey, Stephen R.. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change (p. 164). RosettaBooks - A. Kindle Edition.
Covey, Stephen R.. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change (p. 163). RosettaBooks - A. Kindle Edition.
Covey, Stephen R.. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change (p. 164). RosettaBooks - A. Kindle Edition.