We’ve never had so many demands on our time. Constant Slack messages, emails, side hustles, family time, fitness classes, trips…the list is endless, but the hours in our day are not.
So, how do we make the most of the time we have?
Educator and author Steven Covey set out to answer this very question. His research led him to develop the Covey Matrix, a time management framework designed to prioritize tasks more effectively and spend time more wisely.
We love that because our mission is to build tools that help people focus on what matters. By dissecting Covey’s actionable framework, we’ll show you how to pair our time tracking platform with this popular time management strategy.
TL;DR—Key Takeaways
- The Covey Matrix is a time management method from Steven Covey’s book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. It divides tasks into four categories by importance and urgency and is designed to help you prioritize effectively.
- The benefits of using this matrix are increased productivity, better work-life balance, better planning, and forming solid habits.
- First, write down all your tasks, then organize them according to importance and urgency. Important and urgent are the highest priority, followed by important but not urgent. Urgent but not important fall into the third category, and tasks that are neither important nor urgent are at the bottom.
- It’s common to mistake urgency for importance, so try to avoid this where possible. Knowing your long-term goals is vital for this.
- Time tracking with a tool like Toggl Track highlights where your time is going, so you can make the best use of this matrix.
What is Stephen Covey’s time management matrix?
If you’re into personal development books, you’ve probably come across The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Its author, Stephen Covey, was an American educator and business guru who dedicated his career to teaching leadership, time management, and personal growth.
One key tool from his famous 1989 book is the time management matrix which people use to identify their top-priority tasks and spend their time more wisely.
The four quadrants of the Covey time management matrix
The time management matrix consists of four quadrants, each representing a combination of urgency and importance. Understanding these quadrants is key to effective time management. Used properly, they can reduce stress, avoid burnout from constant urgency, and complete important activities in less time.
Quadrant 1: Urgent and important
Tasks in quadrant 1 are urgent and important. They don’t necessarily take a lot of time to complete, but they’re the highest priorities and require immediate attention — there’s no room for procrastination.
Even if you know about these tasks ahead of time, they can be stressful to navigate. Short-term deadlines, unforeseen emergencies, or PR crises can all fall into this bucket. Other important tasks on our radar for some time may creep into this quadrant if left unattended for long enough.
To keep on top of things, try delegating and staying proactive wherever possible to prevent lower quadrant tasks from escalating into this quadrant.
Quadrant 2: Important but not urgent
Quadrant 2 is important but not urgent. Tasks in this category may relate to personal development, long-term planning, networking, and relationship-building. Tending to these tasks can increase long-term success and fulfillment, but they’re easy to avoid because they’re not time-sensitive.
Time-blocking for activities in quadrant 2 is a shrewd move. This way, you carve out space in your week for these activities and build a consistent foundation for future achievements.
Top tip:
Remember: A project sitting in quadrant 2 with a deadline a few weeks away will creep into quadrant 1 if left unattended for long enough. Get on top of impending deadlines so they don’t become urgent activities a few weeks later.
Quadrant 3: Urgent but not important
Managing your time in quadrant 3 can be tricky. Since the tasks are time-sensitive, they may feel important. But this is a trap because while these tasks are urgent, they ultimately don’t move the needle.
Quadrant 3 tasks might include non-essential meetings, interruptions through notifications, a sign-off on a social media post, or a design asset for an upcoming event. Proper time management for quadrant 3 could involve batching these activities.
For example, every day from 3 to 4 p.m. is your time to tend to any urgent but not important tasks. Another strategy could be simply setting some boundaries and delegating to someone else.
Quadrant 4: Not urgent and not important
Ideally, this quadrant will be empty. Tasks in this part of the matrix are unproductive time-wasters, like excessive social media use or useless meetings.
Identifying and minimizing how much time you spend here boosts overall productivity, mental clarity, and work-life balance.
Yet, finding solace in this quadrant is common as you avoid “real” or “harder” work. We’re all guilty of occasional procrastination, but if we want to stay productive and use our time well, we have to stay on top of these activities and replace them with tasks in other quadrants.
Benefits of using the Covey time management matrix (and other time management strategies)
Using the Covey Matrix alongside other time management strategies like time blocking and batching can be highly beneficial. Enhancing personal productivity and professional efficiency can help you get the most out of every 24 hours, leaving more room for work-life balance and the things that truly matter.
🧠 Increased productivity
The Covey Matrix identifies important tasks. Knowing what you need to do and then focusing on getting those things done first is very motivating, as you’ll see the project move forward faster.
It also reduces your chances of getting distracted since you know exactly what requires your focus. Your increased productivity has a ripple effect on all other projects, which progress more smoothly.
Imagine a marketing manager needs to do a strategic planning session but also has 30 emails to attend to. Using the Covey Matrix, we see the emails are in quadrant 3 (urgent but not important), while strategic planning is in quadrant 2 (important but not urgent).
By committing time to strategic planning, the manager can communicate a clear direction for the team, complete projects faster, and better align with long-term objectives.
⛹️ Improved work-life balance
Using the Covey Matrix properly helps you avoid being reactive. If you’re constantly working on urgent but non-important things, you’re living in a state of constant urgency, believing you lack time. On the flip side, focusing on long-term goals creates space for personal time, work-life balance, and self-care.
For example, scheduling family activities or self-care (important but not urgent) prevents them from being overshadowed by work emergencies (urgent but not important), leading to enhanced well-being, improved relationships, reduced stress, and a healthier, more sustainable work-life balance.
🏆 Solid (sticking) habits
Sticking with the Covey Matrix builds other habits that make productivity a natural part of daily life.
By regularly identifying tasks based on importance and urgency, you’ll become better at noticing when you’re dedicating time to non-essential things or when you’re in a reactive state, just dealing with urgencies of no importance.
You’ll naturally auto-correct where you put your time, which will boost focus and discipline without any extra effort. Over time, these habits lead to better decision-making, reduced stress, and a more organized approach to your work and personal life.
Top tip:
Take it from our team of time management masters (okay, we’re on our way to mastering the skill): once you get into the habit of doing the most important thing first every day, the feeling of accomplishment becomes addictive. You’ll float through life with minimal stress and zero procrastination.
🗓️ Better planning skills
Finally, the Covey matrix improves your strategic planning. It teaches you to prioritize long-term goals over immediate but less important tasks. We admit this can feel counterintuitive, but over time, you’ll be less susceptible to distractions and better at proactive decision-making.
Mastering strategic planning enhances goal alignment, productivity, and career advancement through thoughtful, goal-driven actions, making it key for professional development and career advancement.
How to implement the Covey time management matrix
Follow these four steps to master the Covey method.
1. Create a list of tasks
Start by making a list of all your tasks, no matter how big or small — you need a comprehensive overview to prioritize them. Every task also needs a realistic deadline. If this is missing, assign your ideal date to work toward.
Top tip:
Writing your tasks on sticky notes allows you to move them around the quadrants in step 2. You can do this with real sticky notes if physically organizing your to-do list works for you. Or, you can do this on your computer.
2. Assign your tasks to quadrants
The next part is tricky. You’ll evaluate every task and decide how urgent and important it is. It can feel tempting to say everything is important, but we must remain objective and honest in this assessment.
Ask these two questions to avoid confusing urgency with importance:
Does this task align with my long-term goals?
Tasks that contribute directly to your personal or professional growth, such as skill development, strategic planning, or relationship building, belong in quadrant 2 (important but not urgent). These are often overlooked but essential for long-term success.
Does it demand immediate attention, or can it wait?
Urgent tasks with tight deadlines or immediate consequences, like crises or critical meetings, go to quadrant 1. If a task is urgent but doesn’t serve key goals (i.e. you answered no to question 1), it’s likely quadrant 3.
3. Prioritize tasks based on the time management matrix
With your task list organized, it’s time to begin your in-quadrant organization. In quadrant 1, this is pretty simple — the closer the deadline, or the larger the consequence for this remaining unfinished, the higher the priority.
For quadrant 2, it’s a little more complicated. Since these strategic planning tasks aren’t urgent, you’ll want to set your own deadlines or milestones. Project management tools can help you track your progress and keep you organized.
4. Assess your productivity and make adjustments
Monitor how you use the matrix and reflect on how it makes you feel. Is it improving your productivity? Can you see any areas for improvement? This kind of reflection could even become a quarterly quadrant 2 task.
Be willing to adjust your approach based on what you learn through the process. This adaptability fosters continuous improvement, ensuring your prioritization system aligns with your evolving goals to enhance overall productivity.
Common mistakes to avoid with Covey’s matrix
Covey’s Matrix is straightforward, but there are two common mistakes:
☝️ Mistaking urgency for importance: This keeps you chasing urgent tasks, putting you in a reactive rather than proactive state, which is stressful.
Top tip:
Take time to step back and assess whether your chosen tasks are moving the needle. Tracking your time with a tool like Toggl Track highlights where your time is going and whether it creates the impact you desire.
✌️ Neglecting quadrant 2: Overlooking these tasks hinders personal and professional growth since you never set aside time for the work that helps you progress — even though it doesn’t have a deadline.
Top tip:
Block time out each week to focus on important but non-urgent tasks. If you find it hard to commit to the time block because emergencies keep popping up, make another daily time block to deal with them. That way, they’re organized in your day, you know you’ll get to them, and they’ll stop interrupting your deep work.
Remember, the Covey Matrix is one of many available time management methods. If it isn’t working for you, that’s okay. What’s important is you find one that does — for instance, the Getting Things Done framework, the 4 D’s of time management, or the Eisenhower Matrix.
Improve project time management with Toggl Track
Toggl Track displays how much time you spend on different tasks.
Detailed time tracking information can help you improve your use of this time management matrix and hone your time management skills. Its one-click start/stop timer syncs across every device, so you can track time on the go.
With customizable reports and project management tools, Toggl Track effortlessly enhances time management and productivity. We think Covey would be proud.
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Julia is a freelance writer and fierce remote work advocate. While traveling full-time, she writes about the intersection of technology and productivity, the future of work, and more. Outside work, you can find her hiking, dancing, or reading in a coffee shop.
