Prioritizing Tasks to Optimize Effectiveness

A great strategy to use to optimize one's effectiveness and productivity is to prioritize tasks by identifying them as belonging to a Urgency-Importance quadrant. Then, one can recognize what needs to be addressed in order to enhance their work effectiveness. The quadrant goes as follows:
Once categorized, individuals can then decide what really requires their attention. However, this is easier said than done.

Tasks that are "High Urgency, High Importance" will get done. These are the things that are due immediately and are obviously crucial to address. Typically, one does not need much self-control to do this category of tasks - their significance is obvious.

Tasks that are "High Urgency, Low Importance" are ones that demand your attention but really do not matter. Typically, these are time wasters. However, these are easily misunderstood. Due to the perception of high urgency, one may feel accomplished when completing these tasks, but in reality they do not do much in terms of progression. An example would be going through one's email inbox each morning. One feels pressure to respond in a timely manner but rarely are emails crucial. If the message were, it would more likely be dealt with by phone or face-to-face. And worse yet, sorting through one's email gives a false sense of accomplishment once completed.

As the name indicates, tasks that are "Low Urgency, Low Importance" matter very little and do not require immediate attention. One does not need much guidance when it comes to these tasks.

Lastly, tasks that are "Low Urgency, High Importance" are ones that may not need to be addressed for months or even years but have large consequences. These are the most misunderstood yet vital type of tasks. They are easy to put off; however, doing so can be detrimental to success. As mentioned before, these tasks require lots of self-control so they are best addressed in the morning.

It is important to identify two of the four quadrants in particular in order to optimize one's effectiveness. These two are "High Urgency, Low Importance" and "Low Urgency, High Importance." The other two are more obvious so they tend to be dealt with appropriately. One needs to be sure not to waste time with the "High Urgency, Low Importance" activities and not put off the "Low Urgency, High Importance" activities. Identifying and properly handling tasks in this way can  greatly improve one's effectiveness and productivity through time-management optimization.

-Joe