A. URGENCY VS. IMPORTANCE (Steven Covey)
Consider the importance (or “weight”) of the items on your list, and the urgency “when is it due?”
Urgent Not Urgent

Important Quadrant 1:
Examples: Things due today or
tomorrow, dealing with emergencies or crises.

Quadrant 2:
Examples: Long-term projects, planning ahead, studying in advance,
getting started early.

Not Important Quadrant 3:
Examples: Interruptions, distractions, fun events that come up,
social invitations.

Quadrant 4:
Examples: Time wasters, busy work,
procrastination activities, aimless internet browsing
Steven Covey recommends we spend most of our time in Quadrants 1 & 2 and as little time as possible in

Quadrant 4.
B. THE ABC METHOD (Alan Lakein)
The ABC Method was originally developed by Alan Lakein and consists of assigning a priority status
of “A,” “B,” or “C” to each of the items of your to-do list or task list.
“A” Status Items —
“Must Do”
High priority, very important, critical items, with close deadlines
or high level importance to them.

“B” Status Items—
“Should Do”
Medium priority, quite important over time , not as critical as “A”
items, but still important to spend time doing.

“C” Status Items—
“Nice To Do”
Low priority at this time, low consequences if left undone at this
moment.
Covey, S. (1987). The seven habits of highly effective people. New York: Fireside.
David Allen’s GTD® Methodology. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://gettingthingsdone.com/
Lakein, A. (1973). How to get control of your time and your life: discover how to set your
priorities, manage your life and achieve your goals. New York: Signet.

C. OTHER CONSIDERATIONS . . . (adapted from David Allen)
 What can I do where I am? (Think about location. What can you do where you are
now? Sometimes we have unexpected pockets of time. How can you use them to your
advantage?
 How much time do I have to do something else? (Be realistic about what can be done.
Your to-do list might shift based on how much time you have available.)
 How much energy & focus do I have? (What can you realistically take on right now?)
 What has the highest payoff for me to do it? (Yet another way to think about importance, weight or priorities.