The first post in this series is about how prioritization systems don’t work. This post continues that discussion.
Setting the Stage
As an employee, you may have your priorities determined for you at some level. You may also be told how they spend your time. However, you have much more control than you may think about how you use your time.
If you are going to be successful as a high performer, your success is your responsibility. You own the results that you create. Your success is because of your good choices. When you fail (and you will fail), it is because of your poor choices. So, how you use your time is also your responsibly.
Determining Priorities
Determining priorities is a decision-making process that can be created with a simple equation. That equation is a combined decision of any activity’s importance and urgency.
Former President Dwight D. Eisenhower was known for making every minute count. He used principles of determining anything that needed his action by classifying how important and urgent he determined the matter to be. Unfortunately, the details of his system are unknown.
“What Is Important Is Seldom Urgent and
What Is Urgent Is Seldom Important”
– Dwight D. Eisenhower
Stephen Covey developed Eisenhower’s labels of important and urgent in to a matrix (A.K.A. the Eisenhower Decision Matrix) . Dr. Covey wrote the book “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”. In that book and in Habit 3, “Put First Things First”, Dr. Covey introduces the four-quadrant matrix where all activities can be placed in one of four quadrants based on their importance and their urgency.
Importance and Urgency can be defined:
Importance
An activity that you find personally valuable.
Important activities contribute to your purpose or direction, your standards, and aspirations.
Urgency
An activity that you or someone else feel demands immediate action.
Urgent activities force a decision the moment that you become aware.
The Eisenhower Decision Matrix
The matrix provides a tool for a leader to make decisions about any activity by placing the activity in one of these quadrants. All activities can be placed in this matrix by determining importance and urgency.
Urgent |
Not Urgent |
|
Important |
I
|
II
|
Not Important |
III
|
IV
|
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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