"What is important is seldom urgent..."

Dwight D. Eisenhower, the 34th President of the United States and former Supreme Allied Commander in Europe during World War II famously once said, "I have two kinds of problems, the urgent and the important.  The urgent are not important, and the important are never urgent."  Based on this particular quote, Stephen Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, developed a well-known time management tool that now bears Eisenhower's name, the Eisenhower Matrix.

Here's how it works.  The Eisenhower Matrix is a 2x2 matrix that helps you prioritize tasks based upon whether they are important or not important, and whether they are urgent or not urgent.  

First you have to distinguish between what is urgent versus what is important (they seem similar, but in this particular 2x2 matrix, they are not).  Urgent tasks require your immediate attention - there are clear consequences, usually adverse ones, if these tasks aren't completed by a certain deadline.  By stalling or putting off completing these tasks, you are actually creating more stress and more work for yourself in the long run.

Conversely, Important tasks may not necessarily require your immediate attention.  These tasks will also help you achieve either your long-term goals or your organization's goals.  These tasks may require more thoughtful planning and preparation.  

In the top left quadrant (Urgent, Important) are the tasks that you should just go ahead and do (remember Mark Twain's admonition to "Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.").  These tasks should receive your highest priority.  The bottom left quadrant (Urgent, Not Important) represent tasks that you should delegate or hand-off to someone else to do.  The top right quadrant includes the tasks that are important, but not urgent.  Due to their level of importance, you are going to have to make a decision on when you will complete them - go ahead and schedule some time in your day to finish these tasks.  Lastly, the bottom right quadrant represent tasks that are neither important, nor urgent.  These tasks are ones that you can just forget about!

There's a good chance that you already have a "system" on how to prioritize the work that you have to finish.  If not, the Eisenhower Matrix is a great tool to help you prioritize and be more productive!