I recently stumbled upon this Prioritization Matrix that I love. It seriously helps organize things on your To-Do list into an order that makes the most sense. One thing to keep in mind here before you look at it is that there is a difference between urgent and important. Urgency means that this task has to be done very soon or there will be repercussions. Important tasks have a little more flexibility than urgent ones.

Quadrant I: Important AND Urgent

Quadrant I contains the urgent and important. This stuff needs doing, and it needs doing now. Your top priority will be quadrant I activities.

Quadrant II: Awesomeness

Quadrant II contains the important-but-not-urgent. It’s the quadrant of self improvement. Most of the things we need to do to improve ourselves are important, but not urgent.
Typical activities that belong in quadrant II would include doing long-term planning, taking classes, spending time with your partner.

Quadrant II is where most personal development activities happen: understanding your deepest values so you can orient your life around them, giving yourself true rest and relaxation so you are in top form, and recaulking the bathtub so the grout doesn’t grow legs and attack you in your sleep.

These are your next priority items, right after quadrant I. Sometimes, these can be even higher priority Quadrant II is where you get the highest leverage and biggest boost to your life. It also includes non-work stuff like building friendships, deepening ties with your family, and pursuing spirituality, meaning, and legacy. Those are rarely urgent, but they’re the most important parts of life. Do them now! Don’t wait until they become urgent.

Quadrant III: Social Media

Quadrant III is the quadrant of temptation. These are things that aren’t important, but they sure are urgent. Not-quite-emergencies often fall into quadrant III. Like social media. Doing things that are urgent-but-not-important gives us an adrenaline shot, makes us feel productive, but is actually a waste of time. Make sure your social media is genuinely important to you or your business by measuring it.

Quadrant IV: Time Wasters

The final quadrant is the your-mom-would-know-better quadrant. This is stuff that’s neither urgent nor important. Like your latest Netflix binge. Quadrant IV activities should be viewed with extreme suspicion. These are things that are tempting but not productive. Save these for last!

Now, take your list for the day and list it all out in these quadrants. Tackle everything in quadrants one and two before even thinking about the stuff in three and four. You’ve got this!

Citation:Robbins, Stever. “How to Prioritize Your Life.” Quick and Dirty Tips. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Aug. 2016.