I spoke with Matt Cox after reading this great article which is a Summary of "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People". I know you'll enjoy it as much as I did!

"7 Habits" Outlined

Stephen Covey is the author of numerous self-help books including the recently released The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness. The basis for the material in this article comes from his classic book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

If you are going to be a leader, you must manage your time efficiently. To do this, you need to determine if you are spending time on urgent or important activities. The chart below is a great tool to evaluate every activity you do during the course of each day. Thinking in terms of these squares when you reach for the phone or put off something you know is important will go a great distance towards helping you establish your priorities and become more effective in fulfilling the vision for your business.

	Urgent	Not Urgent
Important	I	II
Not Important	III	IV

Everything you do through a day is either
* Urgent and Important (Square I)
* Not Urgent and Important (Square II)
* Urgent and Not Important (Square III)
* Not Urgent and Not Important (Square IV)

Let me explain. Two weeks ago, as I started work on this article, it fit into Square II. It was not urgent but it was important. Two hours ago, when I started putting the final touches on this article it became urgent and important and moved into Square I.

A phone rings. Our society has conditioned us to believe that the sound of a ringing phone is always urgent. It might be a Square I activity or it could be a Square III activity. Truthfully, a ringing phone could fit into any of the four squares. Leaders must decide how that ringing phone fits within their priorities. (Caller ID is a great help in evaluating the use of your time BEFORE you answer your phone.)

As a leader, your time is more valuable than your money. This chart is a tool that will help you protect and manage your time. You begin by looking at every activity and begin evaluating it and asking "where does this activity fit within this chart?

Ideally, you want as many activities as possible within Square II. For example, your car breaks down on the highway. It is your only means of transportation. That means repairing it has become a Square I activity. You must cancel your day's activities and get it fixed. However, if you make a point to do routine repairs and maintenance on your car, then you could schedule the work to be done when it is convenient to you and it becomes a Square II activity.

You can also apply this to your business. If you have three Gatherings over a two day period, you can wait until a couple of hours before the first Gathering to prepare your samples. This activity is now urgent and important and it becomes a Square I activity.

Instead, if you prepare your samples for all of the Gatherings the day before the first Gathering, you make it a Square II activity.

Matthew Cox lives with his wife and eight children in New Mexico where they home school their children while teaching them about business and investments. He is the majority owner of Megan's Pantry. For more information about this unique home based business, go to www.meganspantry.com . To contact Matt directly, you may email him at matt@meganspantry.com.

Recommended Time Management Books

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness

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