When is the last time you were the victim of a last-minute office fire drill? Did you ever question if it was REALLY that important? Or, was it simply urgent for someone else? Today I revisit the trusty old Eisenhower Matrix framework, and how it might be able to cut down on the chaos.
Over the last several weeks I’ve noticed an uptick in friends, family, and former co-workers bemoaning an endless stream of work “fire drills” that have seriously hindered their ability to get actual work accomplished. As a former financial services executive who now works on the edges of the corporate world, I’m always inclined to ask, “Was the fire drill necessary? Was it really that important? Or was it merely urgent to someone else?”
Without fail, my questions are answered with a heavy sigh, weary chuckle, and several single word responses: “No. No. Yes.”
This opens an interesting dialogue. Who gets to decide when one person’s urgency becomes the burden of everyone around them? For those impacted, what is an effective way to question and push back? Especially when that urgent, yet not-so-important issue is going to drain resources away from the important work?
Some of you may see where I’m going with this. You might recognize these as the foundations of the Eisenhower Matrix, or the Eisenhower “Urgent/Important” Principle. Eisenhower used this simple tool to organize his own workload and priorities. To that end, he is famously quoted as saying, “I have two kinds of problems: the urgent and the important. The urgent are not important, and the important are never urgent.”
What is beautiful about this framework is its simplicity. It’s a matrix. Four boxes. But embedded within those four boxes is rich decision-making and prioritization. It can be used for your own personal purposes but can also be extraordinarily effective in a group setting. Like, when it’s necessary to shut down – or at least question the relevance of – the DROP EVERYTHING email marked as “high priority” with a read/receipt attached to it.
There are times when the matter really is that urgent and important. Unfortunately, those get lost in the endless churn of less important requests. People are tired of getting tricked by the proverbial boy who cried wolf.
So, the next time you are either the potential originator, or the victim, of a fire drill, why not consult this framework? Or, at a minimum ask yourself, “Is this really both urgent AND important? Is it important enough to stop other high priority work?”
