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“What is important is seldom urgent and what is urgent is seldom important.” Dwight. D. Eisenhower

The Difference Between Urgent and Important

Urgent means that a task requires immediate attention. These are the to-do’s that shout “Now!” Urgent tasks put us in a reactive mode, which really helps when being chased by a saber-toothed tiger!

Modern communications (24-hour news, Twitter, Facebook, text messaging) that constantly bombard us with information have only heightened this deeply engrained mind-set.

Important tasks are things that contribute to our long-term mission, values, and goals. Sometimes important tasks are also urgent, but typically they’re not. When we focus on important activities we operate in a responsive mode, which helps us remain calm, rational, and open to new opportunities.

The Eisenhower Decision Matrix

The matrix consists of a square divided into four boxes, or quadrants:

1. Important / Not Urgent,
2. Urgent/Important,
3. Not Urgent / Not Important,
4. Urgent/Not Important:

Below we go into detail about each quadrant and explain which one we should spend most of our time in if we wish to be our best and make the most of our business.

Quadrant 1: Not Urgent but Important Tasks

Quadrant 1 tasks are the activities that don’t have a pressing deadline, but nonetheless help you achieve your important goals.

Q1 tasks are typically centred around planning for the future, and improving your abilities.

Examples of Not Urgent but Important Tasks:

• Weekly planning
• Long-term planning
• Reading books
• Learning new skills
• Creating a budget and savings plan

According to Stephen Covey, in his book, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” we should seek to spend most of our time on Q1 activities, as they’re the ones that provide us lasting happiness, fulfilment, and success.

Quadrant 2: Urgent and Important Tasks

They’re tasks that require our immediate attention and also work towards fulfilling our long-term goals and missions.

Examples of Urgent and Important tasks:

• Certain emails (could be a job offer, an email for a new business opportunity that requires immediate action, etc.)
• Tax deadline
• New business proposal

With a bit of planning and organisation, many Q2 tasks can be made more efficient or even eliminated outright. For example, instead of waiting until the last minute to work on a proposal (thus turning it into an urgent task), you could schedule your time so that the proposal is completed a week in advance.

While we’ll never be able to completely eliminate urgent and important tasks, we can significantly reduce them with a bit of pro-activity.

Quadrant 3: Not Urgent and Not Important Tasks

Quadrant 3 activities aren’t urgent and aren’t important. They’re what I like to call “arseing about” activities. Q3 activities aren’t pressing nor do they help you achieve long-term goals. They’re primarily distractions.

Specific examples of Not Urgent and Not Important Tasks include:

• Mindlessly surfing the web
• Scrolling through LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram

I think if most of us did a time audit on ourselves, we’d find that we spend an inordinate amount of time on Q3 activities.

As a pragmatist, I don’t think you need to eliminate Q3 activities altogether from your life. After a particularly hectic and busy day, randomly browsing the internet or watching a favourite TV show for a half hour is exactly what my brain needs to decompress.

Quadrant 4: Urgent and Not Important Tasks

Quadrant 4 tasks are activities that require our attention now (urgent), but don’t help us achieve our goals or fulfil our mission (not important). Most Q4 tasks are interruptions from other people and often involve helping them meet their own goals and fulfil their own priorities.

Examples of Quadrant 4 activities:

• Phone calls
• Text messages
• Most emails (some emails could be urgent and important)
• Colleague who comes by your desk during your prime working time to ask a favour

According to Covey, many people spend most of their time on Q4 tasks, all the while thinking they’re working in Q1. Because Q4 tasks do help others out, they definitely feel important. Plus, they’re also usually tangible tasks, the completion of which gives you that sense of satisfaction that comes from ticking something off your list.

Be Like Ike; Spend More Time on Important Tasks

I promise as you spend most of your time working on Not Urgent but Important tasks, you’ll feel a renewed sense of calm, control, and composure in your life. You’ll feel like you’re making real progress. By investing your time in Q1’s planning/organising activities, you can prevent and eliminate many of the crises and problems of Q2, balance the requests of Q4 with your own needs, and truly enjoy the veg-outs of Q3, knowing that you’ve earned the rest.

By making Q1 tasks your top priority, no matter the emergency, annoyance, or deadline you’re hit with, you’ll have the mental, emotional, and physical wherewithal to respond positively, rather than react defensively.