Improving Your Productivity -Putting the Eisenhower Matrix to Work

Last time, we covered the basic foundation of the Eisenhower Matrix.?

Only when you limit time spent on reacting to pressing issues and other people’s?needs?- can you start working on new opportunities that help you make significant?progress towards your goals.

So...how do you get started?

Step 1: Evaluate where you are in the matrix

Keep a timesheet of everything that you do for a week and calculate the hours spent?in each quadrant as a percentage – where do you spend most of your time?

Are you constantly putting out fires dealing with tasks that demand your attention??

Or are you on top of things - so you mainly spend time on high-value work, building?relationships and creating new opportunities? Most likely you’re putting out fires and?spending more time than you realize in the waste quadrant so you feel ‘busy’ - but you’re actually not.

Step 2: Optimize the matrix

This is the crucial (and most difficult) step; but it takes time to get it right.?

Now that you understand the concept and you’ve evaluated where you spend (or waste) most of your time in the matrix, you can now start to prioritize and increase your productivity?so that you can actually start making a dent in that important work.?

Some quick tips:

Quadrant I – MANAGE?– you can’t get around these urgent and important tasks so you need?to manage them. Do them as efficiently as possible, delegate them to someone you trust,?get them out of the way when you’re most productive?– whatever works for you. You want as?few tasks here as possible otherwise you’re spending your days’ firefighting.

Quadrant II – FOCUS?– the most effective people spend 80% of their time in this quadrant so?you want to focus on making time to complete these tasks. The more you do, then the fewer?quadrant I activities you’ll have. To increase your time here, schedule them into your calendar,?complete them in your mental peak times, and minimize distractions.?

For example, many successful people swear by routines. If you link an important task such as?business planning with another healthy habit such as meditation or exercise on the same day?or time every week, it can’t not get done. Put simply, quadrant II and self-care are the foundation?to success.

Quadrant III – AVOID?– these tasks may seem urgent, but they aren’t important in the grand scheme?

of things and they are often not contributing to you achieving your goals. With these tasks, it’s best?to complete them as efficiently as possible or to avoid them altogether.?

Batch similar tasks together and assign specific times in the day to complete them (such as emails),?use technology to automate or speed up some tasks, delegate or outsource, and turn off your phone?when completing important work. Often, the world doesn’t end if you don’t answer a call and call?them back after you finished what you were doing.

Quadrant IV – LIMIT?– these activities are neither urgent nor important so?they shouldn’t be done at all.?

Time-wasters such as stress-related activities (social media, reading the news, etc.) should be?completely eliminated from your day.?

The best way to do this? Understand if there’s a root cause for these habits and/or limit them to certain?times in the day (your lunch break or commute). When it comes to busy work that you can’t eliminate,?limit them: learn to say no to pointless requests and challenge the way things are done normally if they?aren’t as efficient as they can be.

Final Thoughts

A tool like the Eisenhower urgent-important matrix can help you develop your time management skills.?

It allows you to regain control over your environment and the demands of others, rather than allowing?your environment to control you.

And that - is worth pursuing.

What do you think?

Use the comment area below and share your experience or advice on this topic.

Like to learn more? Request: The Ultimate Growth Strategy Guide: 3 Keys to Avoid Spending Time, Money & Resources Going in the Wrong Direction. Contact me at 480-766-1772 or [email protected] .

Rich Kohler is a Business Growth Expert. His company, Kohler Consulting Group specializes in helping CEOs and Marketing Executives of Mid-Market Aerospace & Defense, Hi-Tech firms who want to recapture growth momentum, confidently navigate change, reduce risk around their strategy to accelerate sales, maximize profitability, achieve full potential.

A former Fortune 500 Executive, he has helped BAE SYSTEMS, Eaton, GE Aviation, Smiths PLC, Transdigm address stalled growth, flat-lined revenues, declining profit margins; to take a step back to more clearly and confidently navigate rapidly changing markets & technology, intensifying competition to reduce uncertainty, increase effectiveness of their strategy.

We apply a comprehensive CEO perspective to attack growth on multiple fronts, utilize proprietary & globally proven systems, methodology and combine consulting, coaching, and training to produce significant near-term results. We focus first on enhancing profitability, then pursue growth.? We also apply a unique approach - designing customized strategies “Built from Within” that are right for your business - fully leverage your unique organization capabilities…so you can accelerate profitability and sales growth in any economy.

Serious about accelerating your growth - and moving to that next level of success? ?Contact Rich at: [email protected] .