Editing Time management (section)

==Setting priorities and goals==

These goals are recorded and may be broken down into a [[project management|project]], an [[action plan]] or a simple task list. For individual tasks or for goals, an importance rating may be established. Deadlines may be set and priorities assigned. This process results in a plan with a task list, schedule or calendar of activities. Authors may recommend daily, weekly, monthly or other planning periods, associated with different scope of planning or review. This is done in various ways, as follows:

===ABC analysis===
The ABC method for time management developed by [[Alan Lakein]] involves categorizing tasks into three labels: A, B, and C.

;A Tasks: These are the highest priority and most urgent tasks. They include work that must be completed promptly, such as projects with a deadline.
;B Tasks: These tasks are important but not necessarily associated with a specific deadline. They should be completed as soon as possible.
;C Tasks: These are the least important tasks. They can be done when time permits and don't require immediate attention.

===Pareto analysis===
{{Main|Pareto analysis}}

The [[Pareto principle]] is the idea that 80% of consequences come from 20% of causes. Applied to productivity, it means that 80% of results can be achieved by doing 20% of tasks.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/kevinkruse/2016/03/07/80-20-rule/ | title=The 80/20 Rule And How It Can Change Your Life | website=[[Forbes]] | access-date=2017-09-16 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171117082114/https://www.forbes.com/sites/kevinkruse/2016/03/07/80-20-rule/ | archive-date=2017-11-17 | url-status=live }}</ref> If productivity is the aim of time management, then these tasks should be prioritized higher.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The 4-hour workweek: escape 9-5, live anywhere, and join the new rich|last=Ferriss, Timothy.|date=2007|publisher=Crown Publishers|isbn=978-0-307-35313-9|edition=1st|location=New York|oclc=76262350}}</ref>

=== Eisenhower method ===
{{See also|PICK chart|MoSCoW method}}

[[Image:Eisenhower_matrix.svg|thumb|right|A basic Eisenhower box to help evaluate urgency and importance. Items may be placed at more precise points within each quadrant.]]

The Eisenhower method or Eisenhower principle is a method that utilizes the principles of importance and urgency to organize priorities and workload. This method stems from a quote attributed to [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]]: "I have two kinds of problems, the urgent and the important. The urgent are not important, and the important are never urgent."<ref>{{cite book | author=Dwight D. Eisenhower | date=August 19, 1954 |url = http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=9991 | title=Address at the Second Assembly of the World Council of Churches | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402111315/http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=9991 | archive-date=2015-04-02 | quote= Evanston, Illinois. (retrieved 31 March 2015.)}}</ref> Eisenhower did not claim this insight for his own, but attributed it to an unnamed "former college president."<ref>Background on the Eisenhower quote and citations to how it was picked up in media references afterwards are detailed in: {{cite web |last1=O'Toole |first1=Garson |title=What Is Important Is Seldom Urgent and What Is Urgent Is Seldom Important |url=https://quoteinvestigator.com/2014/05/09/urgent/ |website=Quote Investigator |archive-url=https://archive.today/20150411220255/http://quoteinvestigator.com/2014/05/09/urgent/ |archive-date=11 April 2015 |language=en |date=9 May 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Using the Eisenhower decision principle, tasks are evaluated using the criteria important/unimportant and urgent/not urgent,<ref name="Fowler, Nina">{{cite news|title=App of the week: Eisenhower, the to-do list to keep you on task |work=Venture Village|last=Fowler|first=Nina |date=September 5, 2012}}</ref><ref name="Baer">Drake Baer (April 10, 2014),
[http://www.businessinsider.com/dwight-eisenhower-nailed-a-major-insight-about-productivity-2014-4 "Dwight Eisenhower Nailed A Major Insight About Productivity"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402103137/http://www.businessinsider.com/dwight-eisenhower-nailed-a-major-insight-about-productivity-2014-4 |date=2015-04-02 }}, ''Business Insider'', (accessed 31 March 2015)</ref> and then placed in according quadrants in an Eisenhower matrix (also known as an Eisenhower box or Eisenhower decision matrix"<ref name="artofmanliness.com">{{cite news|url=http://www.artofmanliness.com/2013/10/23/eisenhower-decision-matrix/|title=The Eisenhower Decision Matrix: How to Distinguish Between Urgent and Important Tasks and Make Real Progress in Your Life|last1=McKay|last2=Brett|last3=Kate|date=October 23, 2013|work=A Man's Life, Personal Development|access-date=2014-03-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140322092307/http://www.artofmanliness.com/2013/10/23/eisenhower-decision-matrix/|archive-date=2014-03-22|url-status=live}}</ref>). Tasks in the quadrants are then handled as follows.

# Important/Urgent quadrant tasks are done immediately and personally<ref name="fluent-time-management.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.fluent-time-management.com/eisenhower-method.html | archive-url=https://archive.today/20140303212917/http://www.fluent-time-management.com/eisenhower-method.html | archive-date=2014-03-03 | title=The Eisenhower Method | website=fluent-time-management.com }}</ref> e.g. crises, deadlines, problems.<ref name="artofmanliness.com" />
# Important/Not Urgent quadrant tasks get an end date and are done personally,<ref name="fluent-time-management.com" /> e.g. relationships, planning, recreation.<ref name="artofmanliness.com" />
# Unimportant/Urgent quadrant tasks are delegated,<ref name="fluent-time-management.com" /> e.g. interruptions, meetings, activities.<ref name="artofmanliness.com" />
# Unimportant/Not Urgent quadrant tasks are dropped,<ref name="fluent-time-management.com" /> e.g. time wasters, pleasant activities, trivia.<ref name="artofmanliness.com" />