4 Quadrants Model Template by Stephen Covey
What is it that separates highly productive people from everyone else? How are they able to prioritize their work quickly, and get the most done? One answer, and technique usable by anyone, was made famous by business writer Stephen Covey, author of First Things First (1994) and The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (reissued in 2013).
Academics need to live in the 4th quadrant
Here is a template, using the four-quadrants model, for your use in order to distinguish the urgent and important, the urgent but not important, the not urgent and not important, and the not urgent and important activities in your life. This is particularly important for writers and academics, as the most important activities of research and writing frequently fall into the upper right quadrant of not urgent and yet important, and so get left at the bottom of the “to do” pile, and sometimes get left behind altogether. For big projects, you should ideally be spending 60-85% of your time doing activities in this quadrant.
Stephen Covey’s template will help you be more productive.
In addition to Stephen Covey’s template, you can find nine more tips for juggling multiple projects to relieve your stress and get more done.
If you are still struggling to organize and prioritize you can set up a free 20-minute session with Hillary.
