Priority Management for Seller/Doers: Making 168 Hours Count

You get 168 hours this week. How many will you waste?

Every one of us, CEO, junior engineer, project manager, parent, gets the same 168 hours per week.

Time management expert Laura Vanderkam popularized this simple truth in her TED talk, “How to Gain Control of Your Free Time.” Her research shows that many of us overestimate how busy we are and underestimate how much control we actually have over our time. For those with lofty career aspirations and a strong leadership drive, this isn’t just a productivity issue; it’s a career strategy. Where your time goes is where your future goes.

Time vs. Priorities

Vanderkam makes a powerful point: when we say, “I don’t have time,” what we usually mean is, “It’s not a priority.” That sounds harsh, it’s the truth, and it’s also freeing. If something is a priority, like building your leadership skills, developing business, mentoring others, or looking after yourself (exercising, sleeping, etc.), you can learn to put it into your week first. (Yes, even blocking off time for sleep!)

The Priority Management Matrix: Four Quadrants, One Truth

“Quadrant II organizing is not prioritizing what’s on the schedule; it’s scheduling priorities.” ~ Stephen Covey

Most people think about time as a calendar problem. I prefer to view it as a priority problem. One of the simplest ways to do that is to map your work into a four-quadrant matrix based on two questions:

• Is it urgent or not urgent?
• Is it important or not important?

Put those together, and you get four types of work:

Quadrant 1 – Urgent & Important

Crises, deadlines, client emergencies, last-minute proposal work, “we need this today” requests.

You can’t avoid Quadrant 1. Some of your best work may happen here. But if you live in Q1 all the time, you’re in constant firefighting mode: reactive, stressed, and always running behind.

Quadrant 2 – Not Urgent & Important

This is your Key Quadrant for Success. It includes:

• Proactive business development
• Relationship-building with key clients
• Coaching and developing your team
• Strategic planning and process improvement
• Learning, reflection, and personal development
• Looking after yourself

Quadrant 2 doesn’t yell for your attention; in effect, it sits in the lobby waiting to be invited into your day. When you spend most of your time in this quadrant, it quietly determines your reputation, your results, and your long-term career trajectory. (This isn’t the “sexy” quadrant, it’s the get stuff done one.)

Quadrant 3 – Urgent & Not Important

These activities feel urgent but aren’t truly high-value:

• Low-value meetings
• “Reply all” email chains
• Other people’s priorities (even your boss or client) that don’t align with your goals
• Interruptions that don’t require you

Quadrant 3 makes you look busy and sometimes feel important, but it doesn’t move the needle. (It’s like “majoring in the minors”.)

Quadrant 4 – Not Urgent & Not Important

This is pure noise:

• Mindless scrolling
• Chasing “likes” and living vicariously through others’ posts
• “Busywork” done out of habit
• Tasks you do out of habit, not because they matter

We all need some downtime, but extended time in Quadrant 4 usually involves avoiding meaningful tasks. (Actual downtime for renewal and reflection lives in Quadrant 2.)

Where People Get Stuck

Many professionals are:

• Drowning in Quadrant 1 and 3 (urgent work and other people’s “noise”)
• Starving Quadrant 2 (the very things that grow your career and your firm)

The goal isn’t to eliminate Quadrant 1. It’s to dramatically reduce Q3 and Q4, and consistently invest more time in Q2.

A Simple Weekly Rhythm (Using the Quadrants)

Here’s a practical way to make this real.

Here’s what I have found works well – block off 30 minutes on Friday afternoon, which is often a “low opportunity cost” time, as Vanderkam calls it, and walk through this rhythm:

1. Review Your Week Through the Quadrants

Grab a piece of paper or open a digital note. Draw the four quadrants and quickly list 3–5 activities you did in each one:

• Q1: Urgent & important
• Q2: Not urgent & important
• Q3: Urgent & not important
• Q4: Not urgent & not important

Then ask yourself:

• What in Q1 could have been prevented if I invested earlier in Q2, or had not procrastinated on an upcoming important task?
• What in Q3 and Q4 do I need to reduce, delegate, or eliminate?

This quick reflection builds awareness, and awareness is the first step to change.

2. Set Your Priorities (All in Quadrant 2)

Next, decide on your 3 priorities for next week, all anchored in Q2:

• One client relationship to strengthen
• One BD conversation to initiate
• One leadership skill to practice (listening, delegating, coaching, giving feedback, etc.)

These are not “nice to haves” but rather your non-negotiables. They live in Quadrant 2, and they are the activities that will compound over time in your favour.

3. Put Q2 in Your Calendar First

Now ask:

“Where will these live on my calendar?”

Don’t leave them floating on a to-do list. Treat them like client meetings:

• Time Block 30–60 minutes for each Q2 priority.
• Choose times you’re most likely to honour (not when you’re already exhausted).
• Protect those blocks like revenue-generating appointments—because in the long run, that’s exactly what they are!

You’re no longer just prioritizing what’s on your schedule; you’re scheduling your priorities.

4. Decide What You’ll Say “No” To

Creating space for Quadrant 2 means you’ll need to remove or reshape some Q3 and Q4 activities. Choose at least one from this list each week:

• Shorten one recurring meeting.
• Decline one low-value invitation.
• Decline joining or consider resigning from a committee, board, or task group.
• Move email from “constant monitoring” to 2–3 focused windows per day.

When you do this, you’re not being difficult; you’re being a better steward of your 168 hours.

The 15-Minute Rule (A Quadrant 2 Booster)

If a task will take less than 15 minutes and moves an important goal forward, do it today, not “sometime.”

Examples:

• 15 minutes to prepare better questions for an upcoming client meeting.
• 15 minutes to send three quick check-in emails to key contacts.
• 15 minutes to reflect on your week and capture lessons learned.

You don’t need big empty days. You do need small, protected blocks consistently aligned with what matters most, especially Quadrant 2 work.

A Quick Exercise to Try This Week

If you’d like to put this into action, try this simple flow:

1. Fill in the four quadrants with real activities from your current role.
2. Circle or highlight the Quadrant 2 items that, if done consistently for 90 days, would change your results.
3. Pick three of those and make them your priorities for next week.
4. Schedule them before anything else goes onto your calendar.

You’ll be surprised how differently your week feels when Q2 shows up first instead of last.

If I looked at your calendar for next week or your credit card statement, what would it tell me you truly value? Not what you say you value, but what your time and money are actually invested in.

You get 168 hours. You can’t manage time, but you can absolutely define and then manage priorities. And for those who want to grow their careers and their firms, that starts with choosing Quadrant 2 on purpose, every week.