The document discusses Stephen Covey's time management matrix from his book "First Things First". It divides a person's 16 hours of non-sleep time into four quadrants based on whether tasks are urgent or important: 1) necessary tasks that are urgent, 2) quality tasks that are important but not urgent, 3) deception tasks that seem urgent but aren't important, and 4) waste tasks that are neither urgent nor important. The document advises focusing time on quadrant 2 quality tasks to achieve goals most effectively while minimizing time spent in quadrants 3 and 4.

1. STEVEN COVEY TIME MATRIX
We all have 24 hours in a day. And if we get 8 hours of sleep we only have 16 hours. So the
question becomes, “What do we do with those 16 hours?” Isn’t it interesting how some people
use those 16 hours to be incredibly productive while others accomplish very little? Why is that?
Why do some people achieve their goals and experience great productivity and success while
others do not?
Stephen Covey, in his book First Things First, notes that those who accomplish very little are
probably spending a large amount of their 16 hours in the Quadrant of Deception and the
Quadrant of Waste. In his book he highlights four quadrants where one can spend their time: 1)
Quadrant of Necessity, 2) Quadrant of Quality & Personal Leadership, 3) Quadrant of Deception,
and 4) Quadrant of Waste.
Each of us has a choice as to how we will allocate our time between these quadrants. But one
thing is for sure: when it comes to achieving your goals and living a life of minimal stress – all
quadrants are NOT equal. The four quadrants define how you should allocate your time:-
Quadrant 1 - Manage the Quadrant of Necessity as best you can.
Quadrant 2 - Focus on the Quadrant of Quality and Personal Leadership for it makes the
Quadrant of Necessity more manageable and helps you achieve your goals faster.
Quadrant 3 - Be Careful of the Quadrant of Deception because activities in this quadrant may
appear urgent when in fact they are not. Too much time here will slow your progress towards
reaching your goals.
Quadrant 4 - Avoid the Quadrant of Waste as much as possible. Too much time here and you
will not achieve your goals at all.

2. TIME MANAGEMENT MATRIX
from Stephen Covey’s book “First Things First”
Urgent Not Urgent
I II
(MANAGE) (FOCUS)
• Crisis • Preparation/planning
• Medical emergencies • Prevention
• Pressing problems • Values clarification
• Deadline-driven projects • Exercise
• Last-minute preparations for • Relationship-building
scheduled activities • True recreation/relaxation
Quadrant of Quality &
Quadrant of Necessity
Personal Leadership
III IV
(AVOID) (AVOID)
• Interruptions, some calls • Trivia, busywork
• Some mail & reports • Junk mail
• Some meetings • Some phone messages/email
• Many “pressing” matters • Time wasters
• Many popular activities • Escape activities
• Viewing mindless TV shows
Quadrant of Deception Quadrant of Waste