The Covey Matrix Can Help You Manage Your Time More Effectively

By on February 1, 2010 in Old, Productivity & Organization
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Welcome to part 2 in my series on Organization Systems. To read part 1, click here.

While I may be a GTD fan at the moment, I have not completely abandoned the teachings of the guru of time management, Steven Covey. 7 Habits of Highly Successful People may be the most influential time management book ever written. so it is defintely a worthy addition to any productivity junkie’s arsenal.

Human nature means that we instinctively act on tasks that are ‘urgent’, whether these tasks are important or not. That’s OK for the tasks that are also important, but the other ones are not necessarily the best use of your time and effort.

The Covey Time Management matrix can also be used to explain why taking action on goals sometimes gets into trouble. Goals are typically derived from dreams and desires, which by their very nature are not ‘urgent’. Goals are however VERY important and their enabling actions need to be elevated in priority over tasks that are not really important.

So as a tool for helping you prioritize your action items, start by identifying which part of the matrix each task belongs in, and then manage them according to the Covey matrix:

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  • Dick McDonald

    Hi there I like your post

  • flackman

    Your blog keeps getting better and better! Your older articles are not as good as newer ones you have a lot more creativity and originality now. Keep it up!
    And according to this article, I totally agree with your opinion, but only this time! :)

  • Royale Scuderi

    Thanks for the comments!

  • ming

    Thanks for the articles on 7 habits and GTD. Do you use any tool that combines the two together?

    • Royale Scuderi

      I try to take what I need from each. I use Covey methods to determine both long and short term “goals” using my “important” quadrant and I utilize a “first things first” mindset by determining my top 3 priorities for the day. I use strategies from GTD for collecting and deciding next actions. As far as tools, I use mostly OneNote for the long term planning and Outlook for my project and nitty gritty task management.
      I am writing a book on productivity and developing my own system currently. Please let me know if you have any suggestions or “productivity obstacles” that I should consider. Thanks for the input.