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The Eisenhower MatrixIncrease Your Productivity and Get Ahead.
With the onslaught of the digital world we are living faster than ever before, consuming more information and working longer hours yet who can claim they are more productive? Being productive in today’s world entails understanding the bigger picture, being selective, prioritising, delegating and eliminating. |
How can I use the Eisenhower Matrix?
By applying the Eisenhower Matrix you are asking yourself whether the task is necessary and whether it will help you achieve your goals. Aim to spend as little of your time in quadrants 3 and 4, execute quickly and effectively in quadrant 1 and enjoy yourself in quadrant 2.Increase Your Productivity and Get Ahead.
With the onslaught of the digital world we are living faster than ever before, consuming more information and working longer hours yet who can claim they are more productive?
Being productive in today’s world entails understanding the bigger picture, being selective, prioritising, delegating and eliminating.The success of the Eisenhower Matrix is distinguishing between urgent and important.
Urgent being those items that require our urgent attention, but are not important. And those that are important but not urgent.
Living in today’s world of twitter, emails and instant gratification, it can be difficult to rise above the noise and consider the big picture – your long-term goals, values, the important things in life. Most people are focused on what seems to be the most urgent – replying to a pressing email, taking a phone call – a response that is linked to short-term goals with no real value or long term benefit.
The matrix looks like this:
By applying the Eisenhower Matrix you are asking yourself whether the task is necessary and whether it will help you achieve your goals. Aim to spend as little of your time in quadrants 3 and 4, execute quickly and effectively in quadrant 1 and enjoy yourself in quadrant 2.Increase Your Productivity and Get Ahead.
With the onslaught of the digital world we are living faster than ever before, consuming more information and working longer hours yet who can claim they are more productive?
Being productive in today’s world entails understanding the bigger picture, being selective, prioritising, delegating and eliminating.The success of the Eisenhower Matrix is distinguishing between urgent and important.
Urgent being those items that require our urgent attention, but are not important. And those that are important but not urgent.
Living in today’s world of twitter, emails and instant gratification, it can be difficult to rise above the noise and consider the big picture – your long-term goals, values, the important things in life. Most people are focused on what seems to be the most urgent – replying to a pressing email, taking a phone call – a response that is linked to short-term goals with no real value or long term benefit.
The matrix looks like this:
Quadrant 1 – Urgent and Important.
An example of a quadrant 1 task would be something that is both urgent and important. This could be an office door key that must be replaced before end of day at 5pm. It is important as the door must be locked and urgent as it must be locked at the close of business. Another example would be a report that must be handed into your manager by noon.
Whilst the tasks might give you satisfaction and you can tick them off of your ‘To Do’ list, they will not enrich your life or advance you in your career.
Activities in this quadrant tend to be troubleshooting, dealing with crisis and managing deadlines. These activities put you in reactive mode with a hurried narrowed focus.
You want to aim to have as few items in this quadrant as possible. Good planning and quick execution can help you, as you can delegate or question the importance and urgency of the task with the originator.
Quadrant 2 – Not urgent but important.
This is big picture, long-term goals territory – things that will improve your life and the life of those around you but that do not have a pressing deadline. Items included here could be related to your health, hobbies, improving your skills set, quality family time, study. You may tend to put them on the backburner as there is no urgent deadline but they are the most important items in order to live a proactive intentional life.
Steve Covey said this is where you want to spend most of your time, as this is where happiness, fulfilment and success lie.
In order to reap the benefits of this quadrant you must have well defined written goals and schedule your activities in order to achieve them. Don’t be afraid to announce your goals to those around you and inform them of the times you have locked-in to accomplish and enjoy them.
Quadrant 3 – Urgent and not important.
A lot of time can be spent in this quadrant – keeping busy, ticking things off - yet producing little or no worthwhile results.
Activities here may be phone calls, replying to informative but unimportant emails, a colleague chatting at your desk, meetings where your input is not necessary.
A work mate may ask you to do something for them and you oblige even though it is not your role to do so. It is good to be a helpful colleague, but avoid becoming the ‘Yes’ person in the office. Learn to say ‘No’ when appropriate and to delegate, i.e. perhaps your assistant can attend the meeting on your behalf.
Control activities in this quadrant vigilantly.
Quadrant 4 – Not urgent and not important.
All time wasting activities –pointlessly watching tv, procrastinating, aimlessly wasting time on social media. Everyone needs to relax, but lying around doing nothing for too long will not get you anywhere.
Conduct a time audit – you might be surprised at how much time you waste.
How can I use the Eisenhower Matrix?
By applying the Eisenhower Matrix you are asking yourself whether the task is necessary and whether it will help you achieve your goals. Aim to spend as little of your time in quadrants 3 and 4, execute quickly and effectively in quadrant 1 and enjoy yourself in quadrant 2.
Hint
By having well defined goals and asking yourself the question, ‘Will this help me achieve my goals?’ before placing the task in one of the quadrants, your productivity and satisfaction will soar.
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