How to find time in October - Eisenhower with a twist

Do you feel rushed and behind?

We often do in this quarter. 

Many goals, be they personal or professional, have their due date at the end of the year.

It is easy to get stuck in the zone of demand where everything seems urgent 🏃and important ❗

This is not a good place to be, at least not for long.

This month I am going to help you move away from continuous urgency by using the Eisenhower Matrix with a twist.

The Eisenhower Matrix is a helpful tool for planning and prioritising your day. I suggest you take it a step further than most of the free resources you can find online suggest.

From my book Beyond Efficiency

Everything in the zone of demands (quadrant 1) is urgent and important. Many of the leaders I coach and train like being in this zone. This is where they feel alive; it is where they get the adrenaline pumping and feel efficient. No procrastination or working slowly. The way forward is clear. We need to get this done, go, go, go!

There is nothing wrong with this zone. I can also enjoy being in it. But we don’t want to be stuck in it. Unfortunately, it’s easy to get stuck here, to be in firefighting mode all the time.

The general advice for tasks in this zone is simple: DO. These activities are urgent and important, just DO them.

My additional recommendation is to minimise the time you spend in this zone. Don’t fall in love with it. Adrenaline junkies are rarely able to work with innovation, visions and long-term improvements.

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To help you escape the efficiency trap and get more done with less effort and deeper joy, I have written the book Beyond Efficiency.

 You can read about it on this page. 

If you have already read the book, or if you have learned Courageous / Holistic Time Management with me before and would like further support, consider joining the next monthly Group coaching session. You can read all about it on this page. 

What entrepreneur do you admire?

“Think of an entrepreneur”, the teacher in my middle son’s class said.

Before you read on, please do the same. Think of an entrepreneur.

Then the teacher said:

“Raise your hand if you thought of a woman.”

My son was the only one raising his hand.

What about you? Did you think of a woman?

 It is easy to go for the first names we think of. The ones we often see in the news. 

Like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson.

There are, of course, many women entrepreneurs too.

Let me mention five in this text – and then I would love to read your examples in the comments!

Oprah Winfrey – founder of media company Harpo Inc. and co-founder of Oxygen Media. She is also the queen of talk shows and an overall impressive woman.

Annie Tao – co-founder of Horizon Robotics, a company that provides embedded Artificial Intelligence solutions.

Dolly Parton – owner of several businesses including the theme park Dollywood and the pet apparel line Doggy Parton. And then she is of course a marvellous singer-songwriter. 

Gunilla von Platen - founder of customer relationship company Xzakt

Josefin Landgård - co-founder of KRY, the app-based service for meeting doctors through video meetings in Sweden.

Please add women entrepreneurs you admire in the comments!

PS. When I asked my son what woman entrepreneur he had thought about he said: 

“You.” 

That made it to my list of magic moments!