Most of us in the modern age live what can be described as a Busy life. From the moment we awake to the moment we fall asleep we're juggling "tasks & chores", "work & life", "profession, passion & escape mechanism". It's no surprise that the endless streams of time-management and productivity content gather so much attention, that the time spent on understanding time spent would need some managing.
" What is important is seldom urgent, and what is urgent is seldom important." -Dwight Eisenhower
And then in 2020 something changed in many of us. In the middle of all the disruption to the way we lived and worked something significant happened, we looked at the word "prioritising" in a new light. It brought a whole new and pertinent angle to how we look at what we spend our time on. But before I get into that lets first understand the Eisenhower matrix,
The Eisenhower matrix is a popular decision-making method made famous by the Late President of the United States, Dwight Eisenhower. Apart from a whole range of accomplishments in his life, he was well known for being one of the world's most productive people. And one of the tools he used was something called the Eisenhower Matrix.
The format is simple, Take a box and split it into four quadrants reading
Do it
delegate it
schedule it
delete it
mark the columns
Urgent
not urgent
and the rows
important
not important
It'll look something like the diagram below.
Now look at any task you need to do, any decision you need to take and place it in the quadrant it indeed pertains to. While this method is far from foolproof, I feel it hides a more in-depth insight. And if we list all the stuff we do in a day, all the things that pop up to take our time and every time something comes up or even requires action imagine its place in the matrix and help it bring some clarity to your decisions. It's worked for me and added three core lenses to the way I look at my life.
Don't be busy, be focussed
Don't just make choices basis what your instantaneous reflex tells you to do, stop a second, and consider what role it plays in your goals and priorities in life. And let that barometer guide you.
Don't manage your time, free it of clutter.
We do a ton of stuff that doesn't have to be done, scheduled or delegated in our day. It can be deleted. And in most cases what needs to get deleted is stuff like our time on social media or streaming a show. ( I'm not saying don't do it, remember that if something can be deleted, that's the first).
Schedule life into your time as well., not just work.
The more you move away from work and life as two large chunks in your day to time slots spread across your day, the easier decisions get made, and priorities for both get focus.
"The key to not feeling rushed is remembering that a lack of time is actually a lack of priorities."- Tim Ferris
So prioritise the right things and lean on the matrix if you think it'll help you. I know it has for me
✌🏽.
Weekly recommendations
Nilay Patel the Editor-in-chief at the Verge & host of the podcast “Decoder” Talks to the OG Tech YouTuber MKBHD on building a business & scaling your brand as a YouTuber .
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If you’re interested in knowing more about Stoicism and want to learn more you have to check out @DailyStoic ( its been my go to resource )
The channel and all the books by Ryan Holiday are a gold mine to understand Stoicism better.
@Readingroomindia ( a fabulous Instagram account you must follow) Uses the Test Win by the indian cricket team to explain the economic theory of “Sunk cost fallacy”
Un-managing your time & the Eisenhower matrix + weekly recommendations