The Information Quadrants

Urgent: Information that needs to be acted on now.

Important: Information that is not necessarily urgent, but is worth spending time on.

	URGENT	NOT URGENT
IMPORTANT	Quadrant I: The Quadrant of Necessity - Urgent and Important Crises Pressing Problems Deadline-driven projects, meetings, preparations Time-activated issues Examples: An urgent e-mail with information regarding a deadline-related project change at work. A mobile phone call from your boss requesting report figures for the board meeting she's in. A certified letter from the IRS. (I told you that wasn't a deduction.)	Quadrant II: The Quadrant of Leadership - Important, but not urgent Preparation Values Clarification Relationship building Self-Renewal Prevention Planning Needed relaxation Empowerment Examples: Correspondence e-mail from a close friend. A recent magazine article related to personal development. A web-site containing trends and changes in your career. Your strategy document that is due in one month.
NOT IMPORTANT	Quadrant III: The Quadrant of Deception - Urgent, but not important Needless interruptions Unnecessary reports Unimportant emails, phone calls, meetings Other people's minor issues Examples: Emails from unknown sources with misleading subject headings. A phone call from a salesperson who happens to have you mobile phone number. An office memo that landed on your desk from the accounting department about the 401k plan - you don't have a 401k plan.	Quadrant IV: The Quadrant of Waste - Not urgent and not important Trivia, busy work Some phone calls Time wasters Escape activities Irrelevant mail, email Excessive TV Excessive Relaxation Examples: Junk mail, lots of junk mail - yes, of course, you may have already won a gazillion dollars, but the chances are slim, really slim. Sorry. Spam, lots of spam. Some web sites - the internet is wonderful, but not every site is worth your time. Unnecessarily forwarded voice mails. Distribution list jokes or rumor emails.

URGENT

NOT URGENT

IMPORTANT

Quadrant I:

The Quadrant of Necessity - Urgent and Important

Crises
Pressing Problems
Deadline-driven projects, meetings, preparations
Time-activated issues

Examples:

An urgent e-mail with information regarding a deadline-related project change at work.

A mobile phone call from your boss requesting report figures for the board meeting she's in.

A certified letter from the IRS. (I told you that wasn't a deduction.)

Quadrant II:

The Quadrant of Leadership - Important, but not urgent

Preparation
Values Clarification
Relationship building
Self-Renewal
Prevention
Planning
Needed relaxation
Empowerment

Examples:

Correspondence e-mail from a close friend.

A recent magazine article related to personal development.

A web-site containing trends and changes in your career.

Your strategy document that is due in one month.

NOT IMPORTANT

Quadrant III:

The Quadrant of Deception - Urgent, but not important

Needless interruptions
Unnecessary reports
Unimportant emails, phone calls, meetings
Other people's minor issues

Examples:

Emails from unknown sources with misleading subject headings.

A phone call from a salesperson who happens to have you mobile phone number.

An office memo that landed on your desk from the accounting department about the 401k plan - you don't have a 401k plan.

Quadrant IV:

The Quadrant of Waste - Not urgent and not important

Trivia, busy work
Some phone calls
Time wasters
Escape activities
Irrelevant mail, email
Excessive TV
Excessive Relaxation

Examples:

Junk mail, lots of junk mail - yes, of course, you may have already won a gazillion dollars, but the chances are slim, really slim. Sorry.

Spam, lots of spam.

Some web sites - the internet is wonderful, but not every site is worth your time.

Unnecessarily forwarded voice mails.

Distribution list jokes or rumor emails.

A word about Quadrant III:

"Quadrant III information is tricky. Because items in this area are urgent, they have the appearance of being important. But they aren't. This is why it's called the quadrant of deception. Be especially wary of Quadrant III. It is the killer and will waste more of your time than any other quadrant.

Others' urgencies are not necessarily yours. The key to using your mental filter is to identify Quadrant III information and avoid it. As you begin to apply the Information Quadrants to your daily information flow, you will become increasingly adept at separating out this material.

Quadrant III information won't always be as easy to spot as the previous examples. Some information may be difficult to mark as Quadrant III from a headline or e-mail subject line, but when you begin to sense that your dealing with a Quadrant III, have the discipline to trash it."

Adapted from "Managing Information Overload" by Franklin Covey Co.