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Highly successful people generally are excellent managers of tasks and time. They guard their time zealously, govern their schedules methodically and prioritize tasks ruthlessly. Some people and organizations are so good at it that they come up with their own system or approach.
When it comes to managing tasks and time, few organizations are better at it than the U.S. military. In fact, the U.S. Army’s slogan is “We do more before 09:00AM than most people do all day.” It is no surprise then that President Dwight Eisenhower, a former U.S. Army General, even developed his own Matrix for prioritizing tasks which became known as the Eisenhower Matrix or Urgent-Important Matrix.
Eisenhower developed the concept to help himself prioritize and deal with the many high-stakes issues he faced as a U.S. Army General, then Supreme Allied Commander of NATO Forces, and eventually President of the United States. Clearly, it worked for him. But his is not the only task management approach. Let’s take a look at eight approaches that manage tasks differently. These are:
Eisenhower Matrix a/k/a Urgent-Important Matrix
David Allen’s Get Things Done (GTD) Methodology
Do the Worst Thing First Strategy
Most Important Task Methodology (MIT) a/k/a the Eat That Frog Approach
Ivy Lee Method
1-3-5 Rule
Brian Tracy’s ABCDE Method
Warren Buffet’s 2-List Strategy (25-5 Rule)
- Eisenhower Matrix a/k/a Urgent-Important Matrix
Inarguably, Eisenhower had a lot on his plate but somehow managed to get really important things done. He wasn’t just an Army general, he became a Five-Star General and later was appointed Supreme Allied Commander of NATO Forces. Then he became the 34th President of the United States and served two terms. And as President, he got quite a bit done. He created NASA, led the construction of the Interstate Highway System, passed the first major piece of Civil Rights legislation since the end of the Civil War, ended the Korean War, welcomed Alaska and Hawaii into the union all while containing the Cold War with Russia. He was recognized as Gallup’s #1 Most Admired Man of the Year twelve times, tying with Barack Obama for most times of any man voted to the top spot in the 77 years since the poll has been conducted.
Clearly, Eisenhower was effective at managing time and tasks. Here is what he said about prioritization.
“Who can define for us with accuracy the difference between the long and short term! Especially whenever our affairs seem to be in crisis, we are almost compelled to give our first attention to the urgent present rather than to the important future.”
The Eisenhower Matrix understood that when a person spends all day putting out fires, it is impossible to even plan for proverbial fire prevention much less growth. He was able to rack up so many accomplishments because he understood the fundamental difference between what is Urgent and what is Important. In 1954, he gave a speech in which he quoted an unnamed university president who said, “I have two kinds of problems: the urgent and the important. The urgent are not important, and the important are never urgent.”
The core principle behind the Eisenhower Matrix is the distinction between important and urgent tasks.
Urgent tasks are time-sensitive and demand your attention. They’re tasks you are obligated to address. Focusing on urgent tasks puts you in a reactive mindset. They can make you feel defensive, rushed, and narrowly-focused.
Important tasks contribute to your long-term mission, values, and goals. They may not yield immediate results (making them easy to neglect). Sometimes important tasks are also urgent — but usually not. Focusing on important tasks puts you in a proactive mindset. This can make you feel calm, rational, and open to new ideas.
Of course, if you put off important tasks long enough, they can become urgent. People tend to believe that all urgent tasks are also important. But, frequently, they are not. This may be because people prefer to focus on short-term problems and solutions. But, the Urgent-Important Matrix is focused specifically on avoiding the “Urgency Trap.” This method helps combat the “mere-urgency” effect, eliminate time-wasters in life, and create mental space to make progress on goals.
Here is how it works. Make a list of all your tasks and then assign them to one of four quadrants:
| URGENT | NOT URGENT | |
| IMPORTANT | DO Tasks with clear deadlines and significant consequences if not completed in a timely manner |
SCHEDULE Tasks with no set deadline but that bring you closer to your long-term goals. |
| NOT IMPORTANT | DELEGATE Tasks that need to get done but don’t need your expertise in order to be completed. |
DELETE Tasks that distract you from your preferred course, and don’t add any measurable value. |
To start using the Eisenhower Matrix, track all of your tasks for a week and how much time was spent on each using 15-minute increments (.25, .50, .75, 1.0). At the end of the week, place the tasks into the Quadrants by asking yourself two questions for each task:
Was this urgent for me?
Was this important to me?
“Me” is the key word. Was it important for achieving your goals, not someone else’s goals. This includes not only co-workers but also people outside of work. You will quickly see where your time is going. It should be spent primarily in Green and Yellow tasks.
For tasks that you’re doing in the Blue quadrant, figure out if there is a way to delegate those tasks. It might make more sense to hire a Virtual Assistant or pay a neighborhood teen to run errands.
Tasks in the Red quadrant need to stop. At work, that might mean less socializing or no running out for lunch. Smokers might quit just to stop taking smoking breaks.
Pros of this approach:
Stops you from putting out fires all day and allows you to focus on strategic planning.
Overcomes “busy-ness” on work that does not have a high impact.
Helps you make progress on long-term goals for which you have no time or energy to work on.
Incentivizes you to delegate and/or say “No” more.
Enables you to consider key tasks that might get overlooked or pushed aside because they are time-consuming, considered “minor” and not urgent but are important.
The simplicity of the matrix provides a universal method for prioritizing tasks across all areas.
Cons of this approach:
Tasks are sorted only based on urgency and importance. It doesn’t account for resources, complexity or level of effort a task requires.
The use of the matrix on a daily basis can be difficult and time-consuming for people whose schedules are fluid and have a lot of shifting priorities.
The grid can be overwhelming when too many tasks are present, so limiting them to 5 apiece will work best. That means not all tasks get addressed.
As indicated, the Eisenhower Matrix definitely can help you think about task priorities better and faster. If you aren’t using any system to prioritize work, try this approach this week. See if it helps. But keep in mind that it is just one of the possible approaches for managing tasks and time. Next week, we’ll look at some more. Stay tuned.
Quote of the Week
“The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.” Stephen Covey
© 2023, Keren Peters-Atkinson. All rights reserved.
The post Improving Management of Time and Tasks,
Part 2 first appeared on Monday Mornings with Madison.