U.S. Department of State

Group Size: Class or seminar setting

Physical Set up: Normal classroom setting or around a seminar table.

Materials: Recording material, blackboard, whiteboard or flip chart or overhead projector, handout and transparency of "Time Quadrant Activity Sheet."

Goal: To learn how to categorize events in life for time efficacy. 

Procedure: Meet & Greet: Ask for volunteers to share recorded reflections from journal activity from Session 3: Setting Priorities.

Distribute Time Quadrant handout. Ask students to define the words Urgent and Important. Be sure to be familiar with Essential Information: Is it Important or Urgent?

Together students should begin to identify daily, weekly, and monthly tasks that they do and to list them on the Time Quadrant. Be careful to challenge any item listed as important with the following question! "Is this truly important or is it just urgent?"

Discuss the meaning of each of the four titles of quadrants:
Q-1 Do it now or else
Q-2 In STEPP
Q-3 Do it now or else, who cares....
Q-4 Procrastination

Point out to students that when people wish to procrastinate they most often spend time doing Q-4 activities. (watching TV, mindless surfing the net, long telephone conversations).

Point out that successful people who are in flow are most often in Q-2 where they can be in STEPP

Follow up: Ask class for summary, observations and conclusions.

Reflection: Journal entries:
 • Analyze activities placed in Time Quadrant
 • Discuss where most time is spent each day
 • Is the use of time out of STEPP causing you stress?

Time Quadrant Activity Sheet

Urgent means:

Important means:

I M P O T A N T	URGENT	NOT URGENT
	Q-1 Do it now or else.....	Q-2 In STEPP
N O T I M P O R T A N T	Q-3 Do it now or else, who cares....	Q-4 Procrastination

Directions:

List all of the things you typically do in a week. List each thing only once and in only one quadrant. Where do you spend most of your time?