Effective time management tips for entrepreneurs
Have you ever thought of how successful people manage to do multiple tasks effectively? we often hear our colleagues complain about time and they are always busy doing nothing. Imagine you are a very successful person, you have a lot of tasks to complete within the 24 hour clock, and how are you going to do this? Are you going to quit?No, if you are going to quit then you are not a successful person any more, the secret of successful people is effective time management
Billionaires do things different from ordinary; they use their time effectively, not just efficiently. Most of the billionaires and successful people use this “method” to manage their time, the method is called “Eisenhower’s principle /Matrix.
Who is Eisenhower?
Former U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, He recognized that great time management means being effective as well as efficient. In other words, we must spend our time on things that are important and not just the ones that are urgent. To do this, and to minimize the stress of having too many tight deadlines, we need to understand this distinction.
He said, “I have two kinds of problems: the urgent and the important. The urgent are not important, and the important are never urgent.” This “Eisenhower Principle” is said to be how he organized his workload and priorities. Just ask two simple questions to organize your tasks.
- Is it important?
- Is it urgent?
Important activities have an outcome that leads to us achieving our goals, whether these are professional or personal.
Urgent activities demand immediate attention, and are usually associated with attaining someone else’s goals. They are often the ones we focus on and they demand attention because the costs of not dealing with them are immediate.
Eisenhower Matrix
How to use the Eisenhower principle for effective time management
You must list all the tasks and projects you have to do, try to include all the tasks and projects which eat up your time and block you from proceeding.
Next, think about each and every activity and try and put it in to one of four categories as shown in above image
Okay, now time to use the Eisenhower principle to schedule your tasks and projects.
Category 1- Important & Urgent
There are two distinctive types of urgent and important activities: ones that you could not have expected, and others that you’ve left until the last minute.
You can reduce last-minute activities by planning ahead and avoiding postponement, however, you can’t always predict or avoid some problems and crises. The best approach is to leave some time in your agenda to handle unexpected issues and unplanned important activities. (If a major crisis arises, then you’ll need to reschedule other tasks.)
If you have a lot of urgent and important activities, identify which of these you could have foreseen, and think about how you could schedule similar activities ahead of time, so that they don’t become urgent.
Category 2 – Important but Not Urgent
These are the doings that help you achieve your personal and professional goals, and complete important work.
Make sure that you have adequate time to do these things accurately, so that they do not become urgent. Also, remember to have enough time in your schedule to deal with unexpected problems. This will maximize your chances of keeping on track, and help you avoid the stress of work becoming more urgent than necessary.
Category 3 – Not Important but Urgent
Urgent but not important tasks are things that prevent you from accomplishing your goals. Ask yourself whether you can postpone or delegate them.
A common source of such activities is other people’s tasks. Sometimes it’s appropriate to say “no” to people politely or to help them to solve the problem themselves, Saying “no” is an art and you must be very careful when you spit that word; alternatively you can schedule some time to attain other people’s tasks.
Category 4 – Not Important and Not Urgent
These activities are just a distraction and most of us waste our time concentrating in these activities – avoid them if possible.
Try to disregard or cancel many of them. However, some may be the activities that other people want you to do, even though they don’t contribute to your own desired outcomes. Again, say “no” politely, if you can, and explain why you cannot do it. If people see that you are clear about your objectives and goals, they will often avoid asking you to do “not important” activities in the future.
Conclusion
Any time is a good time for change and let’s take the steps towards success. effective time management is the key to success, let’s do things like billionaires do and reach our dreams.
“What is important is seldom urgent and what is urgent is seldom important.”
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