Eisenhower Matrix: Untangling Urgent and Important
Vložit
- čas přidán 27. 07. 2024
- The Eisenhower Matrix might just be the most powerful thing I’ve learned. I bet you've seen it before. But did you get it? Did you REALLY get it?
= = = = = = = = = = = =
New for 2024: my best-ever training:
"How Your Agile Teams Can Achieve Predictability and Productivity WITHOUT Burnout"
→ www.developmentthatpays.com/w...
= = = = = = = = = = = =
The Eisenhower Matrix might just be the most powerful thing I’ve ever learned.
The chances that you’ve come across if before.
But did you get it? I mean really get it?
There’s real power here. Power you may have overlooked.
-------------------
113. Eisenhower Matrix: Untangling Urgent and Important
#EisenhowerMatrix #DevelopmentThatPays
Today I’m going to talk to you about a 2x2 matrix. But this is no ordinary matrix. This is the Eisenhower Matrix. Is it applicable to Agile Yes it is! Is it applicable to Lean Yes it is! And does it have the power to change your life I think it does. The world of the 2x2 Matrix -- This is a two by two matrix. I’m sure you know how they work. If we’re talking about a car, the axes might be performance and fuel economy We’d like it to fast; we’d like it to be economical. We’d really like it to be fast and economical. Or a partner. We’d like a partner that’s smart; we’d like a partner that’s attractive. But we’d really like a partner that’s smart and attractive. Or food. We like food that’s delicious; we like food that’s healthy. But food that’s delicious and healthy: that’s got to be good. Same old same old -- It’s always the same: This square - this quadrant at the bottom left - is to be avoided. These two are good. But this one, here at the top right: that’s where the real power lies. The Eisenhower Matrix ---- What about this one: urgent and important. (The context being the things on your to-do list.) No-brainer: urgent and important! Right Wrong! This matrix is a version of ( - I’ll say more about that later) the Eisenhower Matrix. That’s Eisenhower as in US President Dwight D Eisenhower. Mental model ---- Now, we could go through the matrix quadrant by quadrant. And I’m sure you’d get it at an intellectual level. But I want you to get it at a deeper level. I want to burn this thing into your skull. Imagine you’re on a boat. You look out across the ocean onto a beautiful sunset. And you think to yourself that life doesn’t get better than this. Suddenly, there’s a loud bang. What the heck was that ! Whatever it was it’s damaged the hull. The boat is taking on water. Without a moment’s hesitation, you start to bail. As if you life depended on it. (Because, you know, it kinda does.) Bailing --- Freeze it there. This act of bailing; where do you think it falls on this matrix Is it important Yes: if you don’t do it, the boat sinks. Is it urgent Could you, for example, put it off until tomorrow No! You have to do it now! It’s clear: bailing the water out of the sinking “ship” is urgent and important. Slap bang in this quadrant. So you keep bailing. But after 15 minutes, it’s clear that you’re not getting anywhere: the level of water isn’t getting any higher… but it isn’t getting any lower either. There must be something else you could do. You need to repair the hole. Repairing ---- Where does repairing the hole fit into this matrix I hope I don’t have to convince you that it’s important. Without a repair, this boat doesn’t have much a future. And neither do you! Is it urgent Actually, you could put it off. You could continue to bail. Forever :) Repairing the boat is important, but it it’s not urgent. At least not when compared with bailing. It lives in this quadrant. You’re caught in an excruciating conflict between these two quadrants: You’d love to be able to repair the hole… but if you stop bailing, bad things will happen. The important thing if being held to ransom by the important important-and-urgent thing. Salvation ---- Then you realise what you must do: with a super-human effort, you bail at double speed. Then you attempt to repair the hole. You manage to effect a partial repair. But the water level reaches a dangerous level: you’re forced to return to bailing. With the hole partially closed, you’re able - eventually - to take a break from bailing, and return to the important task of repairing the hole. And so it goes on until the repair is complete. Important-and-not-urgent --- Interesting, isn’t it The important-and-not-urgent task was the cure - the antidote - for the important-and-urgent task. The most powerful quadrant turns out to be this one. Redrawing the matrix ---- If you’ve come across the Eisenhower Matrix before, you’ll know that it’s usually drawn with the Urgent
• Eisenhower Matrix: Unt... - Jak na to + styl
Today's episode is a new take on an oldie but goodie: the Eisenhower Matrix. I've thrown everything into this one - hope you like it!
Great scenario to demonstrate the importance of focusing on the important quadrant!
+Ted Ruchalski - Glad you liked it!
Thanks for video. It was really enlightening.
I never thought differences of important and important-urgent boxes in that way
This is fantastic! I have used this matrix for years but didn't know what it was called. Cute format, too. Thanks.
You might know it as the Time Management Matrix.
Same here, now I know how it's called. The name was "burned into my skull" :) Thanks Gary for this great video!
My pleasure!
Amazing analogy! Thanks.
Glad you liked it!
This matrix reminds me of Stephen Covey’s Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People which clarifies habit three about First things first which one to decide as you point out it’s important.
It's the very same. If memory serves, Covey gives a hat-tip to Eisenhower. But he calls it the Time Management Matrix.
Added Russian subtitles, hope they'll be helpful for Russian-speaking audience.
Добавил русские субтитры, переводил близко к оригинальному тексту, но не дословно, старался передать основную мысль. Если у кого-то из русскоговорящих подписчиков есть замечания по субтитрам, напишите мне пожалуйста. Буду стараться переводить видео Гэри и в дальнейшем, и Ваши замечания помогут мне улучшить будущие переводы.
That's awesome. That's a huge amount of work! Very much appreciated.
PREEEEEACH!!!! I needed to hear this! YIKES!
🙌
I enjoyed your explanation, well the whole video. Thank you! ~ Vero
Thank you - much appreciated!
Is that Heron Quays station?
+Samuel Hošovský - Yes it is!
Thank you for your explanation. I'm a second year Law student at university. I would like to be more productive this semester so I've been searching about time management skills on CZcams and that's how I found your video here. But I have a few questions for this video and I hope you will give me the answer.
Q1:Did you mean "Bailing" task fall into "Important and urgent" quadrant while "Repair the hole" task fall into "Important but not urgent" quadrant?
Q2: Could you please tell me what you meant at 5:03, "The important thing is being held to ransom by the important and urgent thing"?
Q3: And why did you say the "Bailing" task is an "Urgent" alone as if the bailing task wasn't important at 5:40?
Q4: Could you please tell me what you meant at 5:59, "The important task that was the cure, the antidote for the urgent and important task"?
Q5: And, please let me know, what made you think "Important & not urgent" is the most powerful quadrant at 6:07? Because, I thought the "Important & urgent" quadrant was the most powerful because, as long as I know, we do it first. Thanks in advance!
Great questions one and all:
Q1 - Yes: bailing is important and urgent; repairing is important but not urgent.
Q2 - The underlying problem is the hole in the boat. BAILING is treating the symptom ( = the water), while FIXING the hole is treating the cause ( = the hole). So I mean that the act of BAILING is getting in the way of the act of FIXING. Or: we're so busy treating the SYMPTOM, there's no time for applying the CURE.
Q3 - Perhaps a mistake: Bailing is both important AND urgent.
Q4 - See my answer to Q2.
Q5 - This is the key to entire thing:
When most people come across the Eisenhower for the first time, it's "obvious" to them that "urgent AND important" is the most powerful quadrant. But that's not the case.
As you said, if something is important AND urgent, we have no choice but to act, and to act now. And many people get a thrill from constant fire-fighting: every day, they get to "save the day". To be the hero. Such people would resent questions such as "Why did it happen in the first place?".
Preventing fires before they occur, that's the secret here. And I think you know which quadrant that lives in... right?
It is nice to see your face! HAHA!