The Wrong Way to Look at Your To-do List (and the One Trick that’ll Get You Off the Hamster Wheel)
Take your to-do list to the next level and learn the one secret to how tackle your priorities
Feel like you’re constantly on the hamster wheel and aren’t sure how to get off?
You probably start off your day alright, but then distractions get in your way (like people sending you emails and messages, or trying to help on a task that takes way longer than you anticipated). Maybe you even feel like you’re putting out fires all day long.
Next thing you know, you’re doing overtime just to get to your own work (and you’re left at home scrolling your phone or watching a show, feeling like you should be doing something more meaningful with your time).
The Eisenhower Priority Matrix
Before I delve deep into this, it’s important to note that there are variations of this chart. I am showing you the one that I found has helped me and my clients the most, and you’re welcome to see if there are other versions that suit you best.
So, here’s a look at The Eisenhower Priority Matrix. Starting clockwise, you have the following 4 quadrants:
Important & Urgent (Things that need to get done today)
Important & Not Urgent (Things related to the future, like larger projects, strategies, creating a presentation for next week, etc.)
Not Important & Urgent (Mostly communication-related, like replying to emails and answering messages that need to be actioned today)
Not Important & Not Urgent (Tasks that can likely be delegated or eliminated (like filing papers))
When you sit down to create your to-do list, all you have to do is write your tasks down according to where they fit onto the chart.
What people get wrong when tackling their to-do list (that keeps them on the hamster wheel)
Most people start their priorities from the Important and Urgent tasks. These feel like quick wins and since they need to get done today, it seems like the obvious place to start. But this is a mistake!
Here’s what to do instead (that’ll get you off the hamster wheel)
The key is to start your day with tasks in the Important & Not Urgent quadrant (#1 in the image below).
Why should you start in this quadrant?
Because Important & Not Urgent tasks become urgent when you put them off.
Let’s say you have a presentation happening next Friday. If you were to spend just 20 minutes today creating an outline, you may realize some things you need to make the presentation effective (like reaching out to people, getting info, etc.) and you can initiate this right now.
On the other hand, if you think it’s not urgent, then next Thursday you’ll freak out realizing that you haven’t created the presentation left (and any tasks that needed to be cleared up like reaching out to people for information will feel really stressful).
Not only are you stressing yourself out, but you may be burdening others as well!
But how can you get started when you’re already on the Hamster Wheel?
Usually at this point people will say that they’d love to work on more long-term tasks, but their Important & Urgent tasks are so critical that it’s hard to get ahead of the game.
You should expect that in the beginning, so this is where diligence is key.
The reality is that you’re going to have a transition before being able to feel relief from this process. So don’t expect it to feel like you’re getting off the hamster wheel in an instant; it’s more of a gradual process.
Even if it’s only 30 minutes first thing in the morning, try as much as you can to put effort towards the Important & Not Urgent tasks. I promise it’ll make a huge difference in your work day and stress levels!