How can I plan my time and know that it will be spent wisely?

“There are basically four ways to categorize our use of time. In the book “First Things First,” the author depicts them as four quadrants on a “time management matrix.”

When we are resolving pressing problems and managing crises, we are operating in Quadrant I. Here things are both urgent and important. When we are involved in long-range planning, increasing our skills and preventing problems, we’re involved in Quadrant II activities. These activities are important, but not urgent. By spending more time in this quadrant, we can actually increase our ability to get things done. An investment in Quadrant II today creates quality and improvement tomorrow. Quadrant III activities feel urgent, but in the final analysis, they do not really make a difference. Studies show that we tend to live in Quadrant III — thinking we’re in Quadrant I. As a result, the sense of urgency and rush become a habit. There are also times when we find ourselves doing things that are neither urgent nor important (Quadrant IV). These are the true time wasters, like spending time gossiping, reading addictive light novels or habitually watching mindless television shows.