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The Eisenhower Time Management Grid
August 13, 2019
Have an opinion? Add your comment below. Remember, you want to be the leader, not the doer. It is your time management control that will make the difference. At first, you will struggle to identify and segregate your activities into the quadrants. Go back and reread our first two columns. Learn how to physically protect your time. Learn how to block out your time for specific activities. Then stand your ground
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Welcome to the third installment in our new column, Lessons in Leadership. The first key to becoming an effective leader is gaining control of your time. In our first lesson, we discussed how to physically take control your time by actively -- and politely -- stopping interruptions in their tracks and getting back to your schedule. In our second column, we discussed building a structured daily schedule that protects your most valuable time and deflects time wasters and interruptions. In this column, we will introduce you to the Eisenhower Time Management Grid and how to identify critical tasks that need your attention first.
Too many aspiring leaders find themselves stuck in the upper left-hand quadrant where they are dealing with Important and Urgent activities. This may seem like the best use of your time but if you think deeper, why are you working on urgent items? This is hair-on-fire time. In most cases, urgent means poor planning or poor time management. The fact that the issue is urgent should tell you something didn't go as planned. Who plans to be pressed for time so near the deadline?
You should be spending most of your time in the Important but Not Urgent quadrant where you can focus on your most important priorities and plans. Regularly scheduled group meetings, private one-on-one meetings and your scheduled quiet time are for Important but Not Urgent work. The more time spent planning, the less time you'll spend in the Important and Urgent quadrant. The less time you'll spend putting out fires.
The most significant source of interruptions to your planned schedule will come from the Not Important and Urgent quadrant. This will be other people who want your time. That's why last week we showed you how to schedule specific structured time each day to return e-mails and telephone calls. The people who want your time will attempt to make their issues Urgent because they need an answer. That is the seductive nature of their request for your time. It will make you feel important. But you must remember, their problem is Not Important in your time management plans.
A typical example is an avail request that must be fulfilled by close of business that very day. Don't keep falling for this hurry-up technique. Start scheduling some Important and Not Urgent time with your reps and build a rate structure they can use to respond without getting you involved. You're trying to be the leader, not the doer.
If it is one of your employees, schedule a special meeting. Tell them you'll be available at 5p to help them. If the interruption is coming from outside your team, use your e-mail and telephone time block to respond.
The last quadrant is the Not Important and Not Urgent quadrant in the lower right. E-mails are the primary culprit that suck you into Not Important and Not Urgent time. Schedule a block of time for e-mails and phone calls and then stick to the schedule. Check your e-mails and make your calls on your schedule, not somebody else's schedule.
Remember, you want to be the leader, not the doer. It is your time management control that will make the difference. At first, you will struggle to identify and segregate your activities into the quadrants. Go back and reread our first two columns. Learn how to physically protect your time. Learn how to block out your time for specific activities. Then stand your ground.
Next week we'll focus on how to improve the effectiveness of time spent in the Important and Not Urgent quadrant.
In the mean time, post a reply. Let me know if I can help you.
Talk to you soon.
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