Here's a scenario - "Of late, Narinder has been feeling quite dissatisfied with himself because he has been very unproductive and as a result feeling very stressed out. Every day he starts with hope and anticipation of achieving a lot (through completing tasks) to make the day count but ends the day completely drained out (mentally and physically), frustrated, feeling incomplete and disappointed with self. The situation has started impacting him adversely and he decides to do something about it. He does a quick run through of his daily routine and gathers this insight that his approach of "dealing with things as they come along" is not giving him the desired results. Though he has been giving his best, in terms to time and effort, to every task during the day but somehow there are things still left undone and the output and results do not commensurate with his effort (let's restrict to the "time" dimension only). Unable to figure it out for himself, Narinder seeks advice from one of his good friends (who has been quite an achiever and a highly productive person) to discuss about what's wrong with his approach. Upon hearing Narinder's saga, his friend asked him just one simple question - "How do you plan your day ?" . Narinder responded by showing him one of his "to-do" lists, to which the friend responded with another question which was "How do you ensure (from this list) that you are putting your energy/ time/ effort on the right thing/ task at the right time ?". Narinder was clueless about the answer and was left wondering about the answer !"
Now, it's time for a reality check - Isn't it the case with so many of us where we fail/ struggle to be productive inspite of identifying the tasks/ activities we need to do in the day ? We try extremely hard to make it happen by way of multitasking, becoming workaholic, and other means but productivity still evades us for the simple reason that "priority is missing in our approach". The moment we get sure of what needs to be done before others is when we will start doing justice to our time and effort.
In this post i am going to cover a very popular tool/ technique on Prioritisation, known as EISENHOWER MATRIX.
Definition & Background
Eisenhower Matrix aka Urgent-Important Matrix aka Time Management Matrix is a very effective model/ tool/ technique that helps us identify the tasks/ activities to focus upon to improve our productivity.
The matrix was the brainchild of Dwight D. Eisenhower, the 34th President of United States from 1953 to 1961. He also served as a General in the U.S. Army. The invention of the Matrix was borne out of his need to help him identify which tasks he should focus on each day.
In my opinion, the Matrix became more popular because of Stephen Covey's bestseller book "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People". At least, that's where i got introduced to this model/ technique/ tool. In the book it is known as "Time Management Matrix" or "Urgent-Important Matrix".
Urgent vs Important is the basis of Eisenhower Matrix. The Matrix comprises of 4 quadrants. Each quadrant in the matrix typifies (represents) a position on the Urgent-Important Axis and related to each position an action is assigned. The four actions are Do First, Schedule, Delegate, Don't Do.
Let's look at the Eisenhower Matrix in detail
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| Source : eisenhower.me |
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| Source : Internet |
- For Action : Target quadrant 1 when immediate action is to taken on the items/ tasks/ activity
- For Planning : Target quadrant 2 when organising is of concern. Effectively managing quadrant 2 is the hallmark of a productive person.
The key objective of the Matrix is to ensure spending maximum time in Quadrant 2. We, usually, start operating the Matrix with the short-term strategy of addressing the Quadrant 1 items so as to avoid reaching a catastrophic state. Remember, always operating in Quadrant 1 is not the objective of the matrix.
Understanding the difference between Urgent and Important
The key to effectively use the Matrix is to understand the difference between Urgent and Important
The URGENT tasks are the ones which have an "immediate" or "now" written against them. They are triggered by external factors and serve only a short-term objective. They are like a "necessary evil" and they need to be addressed at the earliest. For example, a medical emergency or a deadline-driven project. Urgent tasks results in stress and burnout.
The IMPORTANT tasks are the ones which have a direct impact on our life and job. They are long-term in nature. They directly relate to our goals in life and are crucial for our success. For example, Exercising or planning a career change. Important tasks results in balance and control.
Steps for using the Matrix
- List down all the tasks that need to be addressed
- Map these tasks against the various quadrants
- Finish off the tasks that need to done on the same day
- Follow the actions related to each of the quadrant
- Quadrant 1 - DO IT
- Quadrant 2 - PLAN NOW
- Quadrant 3 - DELEGATE
- Quadrant 4 - DON'T DO
- Focus on enlarging the Quadrant 2 for a better control over things and life. An ideal Matrix should look like as shown in the diagram below, where Quadrant 2 is the biggest, which means focus is on items that matter a lot to our goals, jobs in life, followed by Quadrant 1, which is smaller in size (compared to Q2 ) implying less crisis driven tasks, followed by a very small Quadrant 3 and a blank Quadrant 4.
Tips on using Eisenhower Matrix (sourced from the website eisenhower.me )
- Transfer "to-do" list on paper/ electronically frees the mind. Here, you may refer to the Brain Dump or Mind Map technique
- Restrict to writing 8 tasks per quadrant
- Maintain a consolidated list for both personal and professional tasks
- Do not let other define your priority
- Don't procrastinate
Related Articles
Reference Resources
Recommended Reading : The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
Eisenhower / Eisenhower Matrix : https://www.eisenhower.me/
Video Explaining Eisenhower Matrix : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suGXZ1869qc
Free Download of Eisenhower Template : https://www.eisenhower.me/eisenhower-matrix-canvas/
N.B. - The images used in this post/ article have been sourced from the internet.
The post also contains some affiliate links and i may earn some commission for my endorsement, testimonial, and/ or link to any product or service from this post
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A great share for me. Very useful
ReplyDeleteThanks :)
DeleteGlad to know you found it useful !