The Eisenhower Matrix
A good time management strategy can dramatically reduce stress and increase your own productivity at the same time.
Key Takeaways:
Use a timer to help you get as much of the urgent and important tasks done as possible.
Schedule important, but less urgent tasks.
You should keep track of delegated tasks.
Sort out and eliminate the things that you really shouldn't do at all.
Have you ever had the feeling there is more to do than you can achieve in a day, a week or even a month? A good time management strategy solves this problem, and can dramatically reduce stress and increase your own productivity at the same time.
The Eisenhower Matrix
The Eisenhower Matrix by former US President Eisenhower helps you prioritize tasks by urgency and importance, as well as sorting out those less urgent or important tasks which you shouldn't do yourself. This results in four quadrants with different work strategies:
First Quadrant: Important and Urgent…DO FIRST!
We call the first quadrant the “Do First” sector. Its tasks are important for your life and career and need to be done today (or tomorrow at the latest). You could use a timer to help you focus in deep work trying to get as much of these done as possible.
An example of a number one task could be a review of an important document for your manager.
Second Quadrant: Important but Not Urgent…DECIDE!
The second quadrant we call the “Schedule” sector. Its tasks are important, but less urgent and you should list those things that you need to put in your calendar here.
An example of that could be a long-planned return to the gym.
Third Quadrant: Not Important but Urgent…DELEGATE!
The third quadrant takes up things you could delegate because they are less important to you but still pretty urgent. You should keep track of delegated tasks by email, telephone, or within a meeting to check back on their progress later.
An example of a delegation could be somebody calling you and asking for an urgent favor or requesting you step into a meeting. Maybe you could delegate this responsibility by suggesting a better person for the job. Or, give the necessary information back to the caller and have him deal with the matter himself.
Fourth Quadrant: Not Important and Not Urgent…DELETE!
The fourth and last quadrant is there to help you sort out and eliminate the things that you really shouldn't do at all. Discover and stop bad habits or other forms of procrastination to find an excuse for not being able to deal with important tasks in the first and second quadrant.
And don't forget, Dwight Eisenhower once said:
What's important is seldom urgent, and what's urgent is seldom important.
For more information on The Eisenhower Matrix or to download a free template, visit: https://www.eisenhower.me/