Productivity: How to Use the Eisenhower Matrix to Get Things Done

Productivity. Everyone who has an idea and wants to execute on is faced with the need to effectively manage his or her time.

We all have an opportunity to choose what we do with our time. Some people try to do too many things at once, and find themselves not accomplishing anything. The choices we make in terms of how we use our time can mean success or mediocrity.

In this episode of the Freedom Fast Lane podcast, Sean Coyne shares how the Eisenhower Matrix can help you prioritize your tasks and focus what’s important right now.

An old Chinese proverb says, “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” Sean Coyne is a dear friend, business partner in Zen Active Sports before it was sold, and a confident.

Sean has one of the most popular podcast episodes of Freedom Fast Lane because it walks through the step-by-step process and the intricate details of building a six-figure business. You can catch that episode here.

Sean is great at getting so much done. He is the person who gets an insane amount of work done while managing multiple projects and his own projects. One of the tools he applies to create his productivity is the Eisenhower Matrix.

Yes, it’s named after former President and U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower, and was used as a way to effectively be decisive and to delegate what needed to be done in the proper order.

Two questions to ask in determining priority using the Eisenhower Matrix are 1) is the matter urgent or non-urgent? and 2) is it important or not important?

When you can answer those two questions, using the Eisenhower Matrix can help you determine what to do now, what to delegate, what still needs to be decided, and what you should not do. One of the most important aspects of the Eisenhower Matrix is the way it can help take tasks off your plate.

Determining a task that can be delegated, then delegating a task to someone on your team, a contractor or freelancer, anyone but yourself, is a must-have skill. Sean dives deep into good delegation practices and the causes for delegation fails.

When deciding a task is not urgent but important, Sean explains why it’s important to protect your calendar and set achievable deadlines.

When determining a task isn’t worth doing at all, it should be a relief to cross it off your list knowing that if you had pursued that task it would have prevented you from focusing on what’s truly important.

Using the Eisenhower Matrix takes practice. Why not start now?