McKays

In an article written by Brett and Kate McKay, The Eisenhower Decision Matrix: How to Distinguish Between Urgent and Important Tasks and Make Real Progress in Your Life, they are discussing urgent and important tasks with the help of Stephen Covey. Stephen covey is a business thinker and the author of 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. He is also the creator of a decision matrix. His decision matrix is a box composed of four quadrants used to help manage time and activities. Quadrant one categorizes the important and urgent tasks. In this box are the tasks that need immediate attention, such as a family member in the hospital or a paper that is due. Quadrant two categorizes the tasks that are important but not urgent. These are the tasks that will help with long-term goals, such as relationships and exercise. Convey says that the focus should mainly be in Q2 because of the fact that these tasks are helping with a man’s future. Although, most people tend to put Q2 on the backburner, since they aren't urgent tasks and people tend to forget they are there. Quadrant three consists of urgent yet unimportant tasks, such as talking on the phone of a text message. They are urgent because they have to be handled then and there, but not important because they don't help with someone’s future goals. Last but not least, Quadrant four, which consists of unimportant and non-urgent tasks. These tasks are things such as watching television, playing video games and other time consuming less important things that aren’t there to help in the long run. The sad thing is people spend way more time than they should in Q4. Distinguishing between urgent and important is useful to use the matrix. Urgent tasks are tasks that need immediate attention, while important tasks are tasks that can wait but help in the long run. (The Art of Manliness)

Work Cited

McKay, Brett, and Kate McKay. "The Eisenhower Decision Matrix: How to Distinguish Between Urgent and Important Tasks and Make Real Progress in Your Life." The Art of Manliness. 23 Oct. 2013. Web. 26 Mar. 2015. <www.artofmanliness.com/2013/10/23/eisenhower-decision>.