The Covey Matrix: How to benefit from it | TheRedPill

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GreatGoldSphinx

Posted 5y ago in Building Power - Permalink - Locked - 34 Views

Successful men see their time as valuable, but it can be hard to build positive time management habits without any tools.

The Covey Matrix was developed by the guy who wrote "7 Habits of Highly Effective People". It is well known to increase focus and productivity. You could create a matrix for work, one for personal life, or a combination if your work and personal life overlap.

The matrix is broken into four quadrants. Take out a piece of paper and draw a box. Divide the box into four boxes. Make sure this is placed somewhere you see all the time. Don't make a digital version. It needs to be out in front of you or nearby, all the time.

The top left box is for urgent and important things (pressing tasks at home or work that are important and need to be completed ASAP). The top right box is for non-urgent, but important things (personal development, lifting, etc.) The lower left box is for urgent but not important tasks (things that appear to be worth doing - checking e-mail, for example). The lower right box is the not urgent, not important (example: social media and television, if you do such things).

The benefits of using the Covey Matrix outweigh the time it takes to set up. I choose to plan a week out on mine for personal life, but its possible to do one per day. The increase in motivation to get tasks on the list done is apparent. Many people I have shared this with have commented how it makes them much more productive. Because this sub are all about self-improvement and being more efficient beasts, it is here. Go search for the Covey Matrix online to find out more about it.

TLDR: The Covey Matrix is a useful tool that is worth checking out. It helps increase productivity and could be used in personal or vocational life.

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SirKolbath 5y ago

That isn't the Covey Matrix. It's the Eisenhower Matrix. You might have gotten that from Covey, but he got it from Eisenhower.

And you're ignoring that most people over focus on the squares marked time sensitive because they feel too much pressure from deadlines. Those squares are generally short term goals with limited long term return. The real power of the matrix is when it is used as part of a GTD construct to prioritize your time so you can take care of long term projects while not ignoring short term issues.

For example, I have a test in May that can earn me another thousand dollars a month if I score high enough on it. I'd be a fool to wait until studying for that test was in a time sensitive square. I study twenty minutes a day, every day, no exceptions. By the time that test becomes urgent I should have the material down cold. As you've described it, that test would not become a priority until it's too late.

Th Eisenhower Matrix has its uses but it is not a silver bullet.

Morphs_ 5y ago

You don't touch on what is considered the most important square and thus the main learning point about the covey matrix.

It is the "important but not urgent" quadrant. Most people find themselves doing stuff in the "important and urgent" quadrant because a time pressure is involved. But those are usually tasks that don't build to something greater. Stuff that isn't urgent but important is what leads to improvement over the long run. Like lifting, or building a business.

Because there's no time constrained in these tasks by definition, it's important to see why we should dedicate some time in our week to do just those tasks, for they lead to the biggest profits over the long run.

GreatGoldSphinx 5y ago

It's in there. I just didn't detail it. You are correct that it is the most important square, particularly for red-pilled men. Thanks for adding more information.