People of any age often complain about lack of time and excess of duties. Often - almost daily - we are faced with a choice between pleasure and urgent tasks. We do not have enough time for family and friends, and the chief expects from us more commitment and accessibility. Sometimes we dream about the day lasting 48 hours, because we do not have time to do everything we wanted. However, this is often a false impression, which results from the irrational planning of our time - days, weeks, months. There are many ways to learn how to manage it. One of the methods is the Eisenhower matrix.
The "inventor" of the method is the famous American president. It was he - Dwight Eisenhower - was famous not only for his wisdom, but also for the ability to manage his time perfectly. Thanks to this method he managed to do much of what he planned. The Eisenhower priorities matrix is also called the field, the system, the squares of its name. What is the essence of the methodology?
It is a structure that resembles a coordinate system. The Eisenhower Matrix graphically represents the validity and relevance of the actions. This is one of the most popular ways to schedule time. It does not matter what form our scheme takes, whether it's a coordinate system, a table, or a simple distribution of points or points. We often face a dilemma as to how much our tasks can be considered important, or they can be neglected right now. Do we have to perform something urgently or the matter can be moved "for tomorrow" or "for someday". Matrix Eisenhower urgency and importance distributes along the axes. The sheet is divided into four squares. For greater clarity, you can color them in different colors or write different markers. The vertical axis displays urgency, horizontal - importance. Of course, a number of factors influence these categories. You should take into account personal priorities and values, emotional and financial significance of the case, opinions of other people, postponement of terms and much more. The Eisenhower Matrix is an excellent tool for introspection. You can use it for any time interval.
First of all, we must concentrate on important and urgent matters. By the way, analysis of this coordinate system or table for Different periods will help us understand how and why such tasks arise. In fact, often (and the Eisenhower matrix allows us to see this clearly) urgent matters are nothing more than the accumulation of less urgent tasks. Avrily and all kinds of emergency situations force us to devote a lot of time and energy to doing what could be done systematically and calmly. After we do all the urgent and meaningful work, we can do less urgent, but important things. Timely implementation of them will save us in the future from work and rubble.
The Eisenhower matrix, especially with the timing (it is advisable to keep it in sight and regularly make corrections and marks), will help to understand and what could be neglected. For example, watching TV or computer games, chatting on the phone or endless sitting in chat rooms and social networks are "time killers". Of course, rest is also needed, but if we manage to use the working day in full, then we can calmly devote an hour and a half for fun and entertainment. This is especially important for freelancers, who are responsible for the distribution of their time.