Not Urgent * Not Important: Take 5 minutes to eliminate 25% of your to-do list
Misuse the Eisenhower Matrix:
Find time and gain focus by taking on the ankle-biters first.
In the slugfest of time management tools, the Eisenhower Matrix is Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Robinson, Rocky Marciano, Joe Louis and my kid brother all rolled into one. It stands up, it does the work, it’s your best bet for winning the the day, achieving your goals and keeping your boss out of your hair. But I’m not a big fan of boxing, and I think people get Eisenhower’s Urgent/Important box all wrong.
High level on the Eisenhower matrix (skip if you know this; search if you want more):
It’s a four-square matrix where one (vertical) axis is labeled Important and Not Important. The other (horizontal) axis is labeled Urgent and Not Urgent. The big idea (and it’s a good one) is to slot your tasks into one of the four squares, and this will show you where your priorities are.
People use the matrix to organize their time. It works.
Once tasks are assigned, well-trained pros rush right up to the top left corner and start hammering away at the Urgent/Importants. Yeah. Don’t do that. Something interesting happens when you take a few minutes and a different approach.
Instead, bypass the top left, bottom left and top right corners. Take a look at what’s hiding in the lower right corner. That box is labeled Not Urgent / Not Important. Let’s call it NUNI. Don’t ignore NUNI. Here’s why:
It could blow up. Urgent and important came from somewhere. Is there a NUNI in the box that will become something bigger if you ignore it? Schedule this task on your calendar, and commit to getting it done. Now cross off the item in the box.
Time spent, under 1 minute.
It could hurt someone. Solid relationships are built on the accumulation of small acts: a word, a gesture, a tiny favor. If it’s NUNI to you, but bigger to someone else, it isn’t a NUNI item.
Either do it, move it to another box, or delegate the favor to someone else, and tell the requestor what your plan is. Don’t commit to even the smallest favor if you can’t take care of it right away. Next, cross off that item.
Time spent, 2 minutes: one minute to do, move, or delegate the task; another minute to tell your friend what’s up.
It could bleed. Will ignoring your NUNI impact another task housed in a different box? Send it over to sit with the other task, as part of getting that done.
Time spent, less than a minute.
It won’t ever matter. To you or to anyone. If this is the truth, if it’s just something you’re carrying around because you could or should do it someday, get rid of it. Cross it off your list. It’s gone.
Don’t panic. If it comes back to haunt you, you can reassign it in the future. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t.
Time spent, under a minute.
If you’re the mathematical type, you will know you’ve just invested about 5 minutes of your truly precious time on an exercise that emptied the NUNI box. Enjoy that open space for a split second, and then move on to the Urgent Importants that need and deserve your attention. Once you get the ankle-biters out of the way, you can focus on what matters more.
Give NUNI the attention it deserves, and you’ll be the heavyweight champ of your to-do list.
