Time is a limited resource and we are often told to use it wisely. Being able to manage time is one of the skills that highly productive people have (almost) perfected. As part of the series of “building super habits,” we will talk about the building the skill of prioritization. To prioritize means to rank in order of importance. But how do you know which tasks are important when everything has a post it or a glaring red neon sign that says “me first!”

Here’s a secret, not everything is of equal importance. If you sit down and take the time to think about your tasks, you would clearly see that there are things you can put off for later as opposed to pressing matters that you must attend to…like 15 minutes ago. The key is to spot those urgent tasks from your growing pool of things to do.

If you remember only one thing from Steven Covey’s book “Seven Habits of highly Effective People,” let it be this:

This is the famous Covey Quadrant, a guide to effectively prioritizing tasks. If you can spend time putting your tasks into the proper quadrants, then half the battle has been won.

The first quadrant is where you put your absolute must-dos. Passing an article whose deadline was 5mins ago? Taking care of revisions go into that quadrant.

The second quadrant aligns your goals to what you hope to accomplish by the end of a given timeframe. Preparing reports for end of the month go into this quadrant.

The third quadrant is also called the “deception” quadrant where the tasks you mistakenly thought were important because people have been bugging you to do it fall into. These are distractions. You must learn to say no to these unless they are absolutely necessary. The blinking notification light on your phone is a perfect example of things that fall into this quadrant.

Quadrant four is where all the time wasters fall. You’ve been thinking of checking out that cool new Thai place for a while now. And though it may be one of your life goals to try new cuisine, this task is neither urgent nor important for now. Try to find out as many of these time wasters as you can and put them all in this quadrant. What you are left with will simplify your prioritization process and leave you with a list of only the essential tasks.

Don’t be running around like a headless chicken. Using this quadrant will give you direction and structure. After you’ve listed your tasks and placed them in their proper quadrants, you will find that you have successfully gotten your life back and your time under control. All the important things should come into view, and you’d a have a clearer handle on which tasks to tackle first and what projects to work on for later.

With practice, you can master the skill of prioritization. Do you have a technique for strengthening your prioritization skills? Let us know in the comments! Remember always stay humble, hustle hard!

Written by Jaie O.- The Help