Discussion Forum > The Eisenhower Method
Hi Nick,
This is a really interesting approach. Thanks for sharing this! We all deal constantly with the struggle of how to make sure things that are important, but not urgent, don't get put aside constantly because of important and urgent things, and for those of us in administration, urgent -- and perhaps somewhat important -- they have to be done -- but they pale in contrast to the really important things.
For me, writing manuscripts of my research falls into this very important, but not urgent category. SO many times, my writing time is reduced because of all of the "stuff" that needs to be done -- the forms to complete, huge numbers of meetings, etc.
I will try out your method too -- it sounds very intriguing to me.
Mark, what are your thoughts here? Does your new system in development address these issues as well?
Take care, everyone. Hug a loved one today -- don't ever put this off.
Best wishes,
-David
This is a really interesting approach. Thanks for sharing this! We all deal constantly with the struggle of how to make sure things that are important, but not urgent, don't get put aside constantly because of important and urgent things, and for those of us in administration, urgent -- and perhaps somewhat important -- they have to be done -- but they pale in contrast to the really important things.
For me, writing manuscripts of my research falls into this very important, but not urgent category. SO many times, my writing time is reduced because of all of the "stuff" that needs to be done -- the forms to complete, huge numbers of meetings, etc.
I will try out your method too -- it sounds very intriguing to me.
Mark, what are your thoughts here? Does your new system in development address these issues as well?
Take care, everyone. Hug a loved one today -- don't ever put this off.
Best wishes,
-David
May 9, 2009 at 19:17 |
David Drake
David Drake
Nick and David:
The four quadrant approach is basically Stephen Covey's. There's an interesting variation of it by Ken Blanchard in which the four quadrants are based on the variables Want to Do / Don't Want to Do, and Have to Do / Don't have to Do.
You'll find some thoughts on the subject (written before DIT or AF) at :
http://www.markforster.net/blog/2007/2/15/the-four-quadrants-a-different-version.html
So far my new system appears to have the edge on AF regarding both urgency and necessity, but it's still early days.
The four quadrant approach is basically Stephen Covey's. There's an interesting variation of it by Ken Blanchard in which the four quadrants are based on the variables Want to Do / Don't Want to Do, and Have to Do / Don't have to Do.
You'll find some thoughts on the subject (written before DIT or AF) at :
http://www.markforster.net/blog/2007/2/15/the-four-quadrants-a-different-version.html
So far my new system appears to have the edge on AF regarding both urgency and necessity, but it's still early days.
May 9, 2009 at 21:53 |
Mark Forster
Mark Forster
Hi the eisenhower is a old method i used for years before knowing GTD. I use a quadrant ABCD and then put in it my global aim about stuff. It was quiet intresting for doing A, B, and C tasks and eliminating D. But using priorities destroyed for me my intuition. AF is much better. For eliminating D i just read my all list at night and at the beginning of the day and courageously cross them right away. I process in 2 time : fist dismissing them, secont reading the dismissed and cross it. Then i read my list again all wich stand at me is the A,B,C things most of the time it's A I just report them at the end of my AF list in a word ex see stuff to do p5 (urgent) or see call to do p7 (important about X project).
Some people used the eisenhower method to proritize AF i am not sure it's a goog way to do it. Anayway f it works for them...
Some people used the eisenhower method to proritize AF i am not sure it's a goog way to do it. Anayway f it works for them...
May 10, 2009 at 14:30 |
Jupiter
Jupiter
<<All tasks are evaluated using the criteria important/unimportant and urgent/not urgent and put in according quadrants. Tasks in unimportant/not urgent are dropped, tasks in important/urgent are done immediately and personally, tasks in unimportant/urgent are delegated and tasks in important/not urgent get an end date and are done personally. This method is said to have been used by US President Dwight D. Eisenhower, and is outlined in a quote attributed to him: What is important is seldom urgent and what is urgent is seldom important.>>
I spent some time analyzing how this method fits with the AF variant I’m following (http://www.markforster.net/forum/post/750743). I came to these conclusions:
1) << Tasks in unimportant/not urgent are dropped >>: these tasks tend to be the ones which, after enough time and evaluation, are dismissed. These could also be executed if one have enough time and motivation.
2) << Tasks in important/urgent are done immediately and personally>>: These tasks are those that will float (as I like to say) on the more recent pages by means of the [little and often] + [if not complete, write it down at the end] approach.
3) <<Tasks in unimportant/urgent are delegated >>. Well, delegation is a different story….
4) << Tasks in important/not urgent get an end date and are done personally >>. It seems to me that these tasks will “float” on the more recent pages only if all the time available is not used by important and urgent tasks.
In order to strengthen point 2 and 4, I’ve decided to experiment a new rule, which I read somewhere on the forum, which I added at the end on my daily routine:
1) Start the day with a time-boxed forward processing of the oldest pages.
2) Middle of the day: backward processing starting from the more recent page.
3) (new rule) end of the day: quickly go backward to the oldest page, starting from the point where you are at the end of step 2, looking for: (i) tasks important which has become urgent; (ii) tasks important which still are not urgent but that seem to you that are not receiving enough attention. If these tasks are too far from the more recent page (4 pages? 6 pages? I will see…) I will cross these items off the list, re-entering them at the end of the list. To distinguish these rewritten items from the orthodox AF rewritten items, I thing I’m going to mark then with an asterisk, or some other sign. This way, I think I’ll be able to always have *important* tasks under focus.
I will see in real practice if this will improve my routine ….