Effective Time Management - Using the Four-quadrant Model - Essay Example

 Importance and urgency are measured by the amount of time spent on a particular activity. Failure to manage time results in activities overlapping each other; to be more precise, poor time management leads to procrastination. Classifying activities into the four-quadrant model is the basic step to scrutinizing the urgency and importance of the daily activities undertaken. Using the four-quadrant model, I was able to categorize my major activities as: urgent and important (quadrant one), not urgent and important (quadrant two), urgent and not important (quadrant three), and not urgent and not important (quadrant four).

I tracked down eight activities through the week that consumed at least one and a half hours every session. Using the four quadrant model, the activities can be classified as Quadrant 1; Urgent and important: Music practice Quadrant 2; Not urgent and important: Studying and exercising Quadrant 3; Urgent and not important: Reading and writing health journals Quadrant 4; Not urgent and not important: Online chatting The classification was enabled by calculating the amount of time that each grid consumed.

Quadrants 1,2,3,4 consumed two hours, three hours, one and a half hours, and two hours respectively. The grid revealed to me that I spent more time online chatting than I thought. I was surprised by the amount of time I devoted to activities that were of self-interest. The music practice was urgent and important for the forthcoming schools’ music festival. I noticed that I attached little value to the practice as compared to the other members, regardless of its short timeframe. Activity is important if it comprises of long-term strategies and personal development.

Important activities are those that contribute to health and wellness. Music practice, studying, and exercising were the most important activities for the past week. I am passionate about those activities since they stimulate personal development. Music, studying and exercising form my hobbies list in my résumé. They are activities that propel my long-term goals of personal development; and success.