Why do we feel like we are working so hard only to produce normal results? Where does normal performance stack up against high performance?

Real Examples

Here are some examples of activities and where they fall in the Eisenhower Decision Matrix. Do you recognize these activities in your life?

See this post for pure definitions of this matrix.

	Urgent	Not Urgent
Important	I You or someone you love has been hurt Your car’s gas tank is below empty and you must drive across town	II Prioritizing your to-do list and scheduling highest priorities on your calendar Planning for next week, next month, next year
Not Important	III Someone knocking on your front door Email with an urgent subject, but the content is not important	IV TV shows that don’t refresh you or help you Engaging in gossip

Spending Your Time

How you spend your time can be shown by where your activities fall into one of these four quadrants.

Normal Performance

People who perform at “normal” levels are people who produce “normal” results. Studies have shown that allocation of time in each quadrant (as shown below) will create “normal” results. If time were represented in a pie chart, this is how time is allocated for normal performance.

25 – 30% of time is spent in quadrant I
(Important and Urgent)

About 15% of time is spent in quadrant II
(Important but Not Urgent)

50 – 60% of time is spent in quadrant III
(Urgent but Not Important)

2 – 3% of time is spent in quadrant IV
(Not Important and Not Urgent)

High Performance

People who perform at “high” levels are people who produce well above “normal” results. Studies have shown that allocation of time in each quadrant (as shown below) creates “high performance”.

20 – 25% of time is spent in quadrant I
(Important and Urgent)

65 – 80% of time is spent in quadrant II
(Important but Not Urgent)

About 15% of time is spent in quadrant III
(Urgent but Not Important)

Less than 1% of time is spent in quadrant IV
(Not Important and Not Urgent)

 

 

This month, I am posting about how to prioritize your activities. Get the free companion worksheet that will accompany all posts this month.

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