Time management is of great importance for the work of direction. Let us see how Stephen R. Covey and Peter Drucker deal with this issue.
Covey divides tasks to be accomplished into: urgent, not urgent and important, or not important. He then analyzes all the possible combinations. In this sense, as the following table shows, we can do urgent and important things, urgent and not important things, not urgent and important things, and not urgent and not important things.
I. Important-Urgent. This is something that has to be done right now, leaving everything else to the side. These things take precedence over all other tasks. Usually its omission leads to serious consequences for the business. In a certain sense, these things cry out to us to do them. Some examples: a production machine is broken, I have to fix it as soon as possible so as not to halt production; a fire sprung up, I need to get out of the building and call the firemen; there is a strike and so I now I need to negotiate so as to avoid closing.
II. Important-Not Urgent. These things can bring important benefits or avoid serious problems, but it is not critical that one do them right away. They do not cry out to us in the sense that if one does not carry them out or if one does them later things will function well regardless, and there are no immediate consequences, either good or bad.
III. Not Important-Urgent. These things need to be resolved immediately, though they have no relevant consequences. Examples: My electricity has been shut off and I need to pay the bill. This is not important in the sense that it is not a decision that influences the business earnings, but it is important because if I don’t pay the bill they will shut off the lights and I cannot work.
IV. Not Important-Not Urgent. There is no need to confront these things right away, there are no serious consequences if they are overlooked. They are often activities that I have to avoid doing because they are simply a waste of time, or at least take away from the time I should dedicate to other, more important things. I cannot always avoid them, but it is in my best interest to minimize them. Some examples: an unexpected visit from a friend. This distracts me from what I was doing, but out of courtesy I must see him; looking up interesting news on the internet, even though it really has nothing to do with what I am doing at the moment; I had an appointment at 5:00, but at 5:30 I am still in the waiting room––all this time is spent in quadrant IV.
We can assign all of our time to one of these four quadrants (I, II, III, IV). The problem that comes up is two-fold. In the first place, identify the quadrant where it is in your best interest to work, then which criteria you have to use to assign your duties to one rather than the other.
Which is the most important quadrant? If we want to push our business to the maximum, we have to work in quadrant II. The first quadrant is a reality by force: something is important and urgent and does not leave one much possibility of choice. Instead, quadrant II is where I am the one who chooses. Considering that it is not urgent, before acting I can evaluate, seek advice, think, consider alternatives, and at last decide.
The other problem refers to how to assign all of my activities to one or the other quadrants, or more concretely, how I know that a certain task belongs to quadrant II––that is, how I can concentrate above all with the important and not urgent things, in such a way as to push my business to its maximum capacity. Covey answers by saying that the easiest way to understand if a certain activity corresponds to quadrant II is to test whether that undertaking leads me closer to my objectives. Quadrant II is the heart of efficacious business management. It leads to success. But it does not limit itself to putting my time schedule in order: it relates time to objectives.
I think Drucker’s response could help us understand the importance of this quadrant. For him, of all the manager’s activities, only a certain part are free, in the sense that they leave him with only a small bit of space that is truly his own. In fact, a large number of activities (nearly 75%) have to do with predetermined tasks: receive people, study information, take business trips etc., and not all of these are strategic. There is, then, the risk of dedicating a lot of time to activities that do not advance the business. The manager must have the talent to discover on which actions he or she needs to concentrate. To have talent means to say yes to important things and no to others. To concentrate on the business implies saying yes to important things and dedicate the small time (25%) to free choices.
The principle activities (25%) can refer to relationships, with people, to decisions (only a manager can make these), or to innovation––that is, those changes that are introduced to make improvements. Covey’s quadrant II coincides with the 25% of time a manager has at his or her disposal as described by Drucker.
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