Time Management (Eisenhower Matrix + Time Tracking)
Building off last week's topic involving executive functioning skills, this week students learned specific tips related to time management. First, we narrowed in on prioritization using the Eisenhower Matrix. Then we looked for examples in each quadrant relevant to students' daily lives. We then moved on to powerful tips related to executive functioning skills and tracking time for more self-awareness with long-term planning.
“Who can define for us with accuracy the difference between the long and short term! Especially whenever our affairs seem to be in crisis, we are almost compelled to give our first attention to the urgent present rather than to the important future.” — Dwight D. Eisenhower
“Freedom has been defined as the opportunity for self-discipline.” — Dwight D. Eisenhower
Accomplishments of Eisenhower:
- 34th president of the United States
- Five-star general during World War II
- Interstate Highway System
- NASA
- First significant civil rights legislation since the end of the Civil War
- Ended Korean War
- Alaska and Hawaii established as states
- Avoided war with the Soviet Union
How did he do all that? Eisenhower's system is defined below:
1. Identify What is Urgent & Important
- You must take action soon (example: cramming for test/recital)
- Visible deadlines and consequences for procrastinating (example: 2 hours until test)
- Sprung on you from an external source (example: have to babysit little brother while mom picks up grandma)
- Things that you put off (example: should have practiced for recital/test sooner)
- Too much time in quadrant 1 = burnout, stress, life out of control
2. Identify What is Not Urgent & Important (You want to spend time here)
- Tasks helping you achieve long-term goals
- Tricky for motivation: may not have deadlines or end date
- Not focused on urgent problems, but instead focused on opportunities/growth
- Examples: exercise, organizing work space, relationship building, mastering a skill for an activity you want to excel at someday (practicing your instrument or sport daily)
- Plan a schedule that avoids problems or time spent in "urgent and important" mode
- Key word: proactive
3. Identify What is Urgent & Not Important
- Busy work that should be batched, scheduled, or delegated
- Example: Checking your messages, phone, or email every time a new message comes in (aim for once or twice a day instead = batching)
- Includes unnecessary interruptions because of ineffective scheduling (Maybe don’t do a Zoom class while in line at the pool?)
- Tips: Practice saying no, negotiate workload, don’t give these tasks your optimal energy (save them for the end vs. the beginning of a work session)
4. Identify What is Not Urgent & Not important
- Watching TV/YouTube/gaming/online browsing for hours
- Refreshing inbox/social media scrolling
- Avoidance activities: sorting and organizing homework rather than doing it
Tips to get more of your life into Not Urgent BUT Important:
- Track your time and tasks for a week using a planner and help from an adult.
- Ask… Was this urgent for me? Was this important to me? What was fulfilling and unfulfilling? Consider drawing an Eisenhower matrix for yourself and filling in the quadrants.
- Set some goals/deadlines around an important project/class.
- Organize a weekly, monthly, or even semester plan. At the end of each week, do a weekly review and adjust it.
- Still stressed and not able to tackle what is not urgent but important? Track your time for a week again.
- Identify your biggest time wasters.
- Develop a plan for how to avoid or limit them.
- Stick to this plan for a week or month and see how it feels. It’s OK to relax here and there, but you’ll want to aim for high-quality leisure time that feels good in the long run.
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