The Eisenhower Matrix

Aleksandar Pudar | September 21, 2018

Last updated: September 21, 2018

The Eisenhower Matrix

In the shipping industry, we witness many new tasks, and things are appearing on a daily basis, irrespective of whether we are working on board or in the office. We spend much time managing so-called situations and important jobs. We waste much energy on these on a daily basis. We all work with the same amount of time, so what makes some people better in time management than others.

The answer is simple; some people have innate ability to identify what must be done immediately and what can be left for some another time, or needs to be delegated. Some people do not have that ability, but like anything, in life, that ability can be learned. One way is to create your own to do list using President Eisenhower method of time management.

It is a useful time management tool for getting things done. It is a prioritisation framework. It focuses on radical or extreme prioritisation; this way of doing aids us in moving away from short-term thinking to long-term strategic planning and productivity.

‘Dwight D. Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States from 1953 until 1961. Before becoming President, he served as a general in the United States Army and as the Allied Forces Supreme Commander during World War II. He also later became NATO’s first supreme commander.’ (Oppong, 2017)

“What is important is seldom urgent, and what is urgent is seldom important.”

Dwight D. Eisenhower

How to create your own Eisenhower Matrix- To Do List:

1. By using excel, create below spreadsheet

2. After the spreadsheet is created, name it “Eisenhower Matrix - To Do List”.

3.  Create a folder with the name “Eisenhower Method” and move the excel spreadsheet to it.

4. Within the folder, create separate folders as per below snapshot.

5. Inside each folder, you can create separate subfolders to organise all the tasks better. See below snapshot.

How to use the Eisenhower Method

Eisenhower Method can be beneficial only if you can commit yourself to make a proper categorisation of daily tasks; method requires to group your tasks and activities into four priorities.

1.  the tasks are both urgent and important.
2.  tasks are important but not urgent.
3.  tasks are urgent but not important.
4.  tasks are neither urgent nor important

Here is how tasks based on the Principle above may be dealt with :

Important/Urgent quadrant is done immediately and personally, e.g. crisis, deadlines, problems.

Important/Not Urgent quadrant get an end date and are done personally, e.g. end of the month papers, planning, weekly reports and recreation.

Unimportant/Urgent quadrant are delegated e.g. interruptions, small tasks.

Unimportant/Not Urgent quadrant are dropped, e.g. time wasters, side activities, trivia, and junk mail.

The Eisenhower Method purpose is to help you filter the noise from your decisions and concentrate on what matters to you and your job.

Hope you will find this useful.

References:

1. Oppong, T. 2017. “The Eisenhower Method For Taking Action (How to Distinguish Between Urgent and Important Tasks).- The Mission Podcasts.” www.medium.com [Online]. Available from:< https://medium.com/the-mission/the-eisenhower-method-for-taking-action-how-to-distinguish-between-urgent-and-important-tasks-895339a13dea > [Accessed on 21 September 2018].

Bibliography :

1. Krogerus, M & Tschäppeler, R (2017). The Decision Book: Fifty models for strategic thinking (New Edition). (The new and revised edition ed.). England: Profile Books Ltd.
2. McKay Brett and Kate, 2013. “The Eisenhower Decision Matrix: How to Distinguish Between Urgent and Important Tasks”. - www.theartofmanliness.com - [Online].Available from: <https://www.artofmanliness.com/articles/eisenhower-decision-matrix/ >[Accessed on : 21 September 2018]

Disclaimer:

“Out of Box Maritime Thinker” © 2018 and Aleksandar Pudar assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions in the content of this paper. The information contained in this paper is provided on an “as is” basis with no guarantees of completeness, accuracy, usefulness or timeliness or of the results obtained from the use of this information. The ideas and strategies should never be used without first assessing your own company situation or system, or without consulting a consultancy professional. The content of this paper is intended to be used and must be used for informational purposes only.