16 March, 2021

The Alternative Time Management Matrix

Stephen Covey introduced the Time Management Matrix; a grid which classifies tasks into 4 categories:
1. Urgent and important
2. Urgent but not important
3. Not urgent but important
4. Neither urgent nor important

The aim is help you use your time effectively and free up time to ensure you focus on the priorities.

We all have too much to do in our daily lives and our feeling of stress and overwhelm can often come from those things we think we should do or the expectations we put on ourselves whether at home at work or with the family.

Also, the stress can come from the things you are not doing and there will often be those constant reminders. This can include the pile of reading you have on the side of your desk, the unanswered emails you see when you log in through to the difficult discussion that is brewing with a colleague. And then you question what it’s all about and why you can’t just switch off when you spend time with your family.

I have an alternative time management matrix and I call it the 4S’s.
1. Sort it
2. Start it
3. Share it
4. Stuff it!

SORT IT!
It starts with taking some time out to identify the things that are causing you stress and write them down. If you are not sure, take a look around you and notice what makes your head drop or makes you sigh. It doesn’t matter how many; just write them down.
Then identify which ones you enjoy doing, those that only you can do and which ones can be delegated or ditched.

START IT!
If you enjoy it or it is just you that can do it then start it! Stop procrastinating about it and make a start. Set yourself 30 mins to start it and you will find it is never as bad once you get going. You can then establish how long the overall task will take and you can set yourself some realistic deadlines to achieve it.

SHARE IT!
If you don’t enjoy it, delegate it to someone. Give yourself permission to let go of that full control and see it as an opportunity for the other person to grow and ways in which you can help them grow.

STUFF IT!
If the papers are not important enough to be filed, throw them away. If the reading material has not reached the top of the interest pile after a month or so, throw it away.

Often it is not the work itself that is the problem but the culmination of stresses from many things that just don’t go away and that feeling that we should do so much more.

So next time you are struggling with those feeling of stress and overwhelm come back to identifying what are those things causing you stress (Sort it) and then decide whether your stressors can be Started, Shared or Stuffed!

Time is short for all of us and none of us want to waste time unnecessarily.

If you want further help to find direction, balance and fulfilment in all areas of your life then as Your Catalyst For Change I can help you.

You can start by downloading my free Ebook to help create the balance that you crave. Download here

I help you gain CLARITY on what’s important, build CAPABILITY to overcome the challenges on the way and 
increase CONFIDENCE to take the steps to just do it!

I’m Tracy and I’m more than just a coach, I’m Your Catalyst for Change!

Tracy, Your Catalyst for Change

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