We know that not all tasks are created equal. Especially as people who work from home; work tasks somehow get muddled into more important house chores and get lost in the process. Luckily, we have a tool to help you manage all tasks and organize your time better to be an effective and efficient team member.
The Eisenhower Matrix, is also known as the Urgent-Important Matrix. This tool helps us prioritize and decide what tasks we need to work on first. It bases the priority of the task on its urgency. Avoid feeling swamped in the feeling that you need to do everything on your own and find smarter ways to get the job done. This matrix was created by Stephen Covey with the late president Dwight D. Eisenhower, the 34th president of the United States’ productivity philosophy in mind.
Eisenhower was known to be a man with many accomplishments under his belt. He was able to build projects and finish a lot of big steps for his country, and he managed to do all his accomplishments using this matrix:
The matrix is separated into four aspects that interact with each other: Urgent, Not Urgent, Important, Not Important.
The upper left quadrant is the most important and urgent task that needs to be done today or tomorrow at the latest. An example could be a performance review for one of your team members for their regularization due tomorrow.
The upper right quadrant is an important task that does not need to be done urgently, so it can be set aside for a temporary date for now, until it becomes urgent. An example could be a strategy meeting for an upcoming project set to launch next month.
The lower left quadrant is a task that is not important, but urgent. This you can delegate to others to get the load off. An example could be buying a few tickets for the movie tonight. You can delegate that to someone who is more able to do this and focus on more urgent tasks.
The lower right quadrant consists of tasks that are not urgent and not important to warrant action. So, you can shelve it indefinitely, or better yet, remove it from your headspace.
When using the Eisenhower Matrix keep these important tips in mind:
Try not to overdo your “Do now” pane. Fill it up with tasks that are aligned with your daily goals and work with it at the pace you are most comfortable.
Use sticky notes to effectively transition “Do Later” tasks into the “Do Now” quadrant.
If possible, try to combine personal with work tasks in this matrix to achieve balance in prioritizing to-dos
This June is Pride and Productivity Month at Rocket Station! We are using all our smarts to keep you clever and proud this month of the colorful flag. If you find these articles helpful, sign up in our mailing list and learn new things!
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