Decision Making with the Eisenhower Box - (Bonus Topics: Get Paid to Move, How to Ask Useful Questions, etc...)
Savvy Saturdays (6/5/21)
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Savvy Idea: Create a decision matrix based on importance and urgency to help decide how to act and make the best decisions.
My principal engineer shared with me his secret on how he is effective and efficient in fixing problems, making important decisions, and playing board games.
He utilizes a tool called the “Eisenhower Box”.
Essentially, it’s a decision matrix that categorizes situations based on urgency and importance to prioritize decision-making.
This tool is helpful in discerning the importance of a task, based on 4 possibilities:
Urgent and important (tasks you will do immediately).
Important, but not urgent (tasks you will schedule to do later).
Urgent, but not important (tasks you can and should delegate to someone else).
Neither urgent nor important (tasks that you will eliminate/ignore).
My co-worker shared how he uses this not only at work in order to pinpoint how to address errors that arise (which ones are worth waking up at 3 AM in the morning, and which ones should never be brought up), but also for board games in order decide what’s the most important tasks to complete in a game so he can win, and which ones he can subtly manipul… I mean, delegate to his opponents if he can.
By equipping this tool, it opens the door in order to be more effective, efficient, and productive through eliminating time-wasting activities and prioritize what is most important to do.
Questions to ponder: 🤔
What areas of your life would utilizing the Eisenhower Matrix help you prioritize what’s important or urgent?
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Weekly Collections
A collection of resources for you to enjoy… 📰 🎬 🎙️
Get Paid to Move
Discovered this website where you can get paid to go to a community for a year!
If you’re looking to take a gap year or work remotely across the US, check it out!
How to Ask Useful Questions
Discovered a cool article that covers how to ask different questions depending on what you’re trying to go for. It’s very useful, as asking useful questions is one of the most effective ways to get to the point and make an impact.
Asking for Information
"I'm interested in more information about A, and I found you via B. Are you the best person to ask about this?"
Asking for Clarification
"Based on our conversation about A, it sounds like B is the case. Is that correct?"
Asking for Help
"I'm trying to A, and I'm having trouble. So far, I've tried B with result C, and D with result E. Now I'm stuck. Any guidance?"
Asking for Agreement
"Based on our previous conversation about X, we decided Y is the best solution. The next step is Z. Agreed? If so, I'll get started right away."
Asking for Advice
"I'm working on A. My priorities are B, C, and D. I'm considering E, but I'm not sure it's the best option. If you have a moment, I'd appreciate your thoughts. If not, no worries. Thanks!"
(source)
Additional Unsolicited Quality Social Tips (from a random FB post)
When someone shows you a photo on their phone, don’t swipe left or right. You never know what’s next;
If a colleague tells you they have a doctors’ appointment, don’t ask what it’s for, just say “I hope you’re okay”. Don’t put them in the uncomfortable position of having to tell you their personal illness. If they want you to know, they’ll do so without your inquisitiveness.
Treat the cleaner with the same respect as the CEO. Nobody is impressed at how rude you can treat someone below you but people will notice if you treat them with respect.
Weekly Tidbits
Learnings, verses, & quotes to chew on… 🧐
Verse of the Week
“Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.”
—Proverbs 4:23
Challenging Quote
“A true vocation calls us out beyond ourselves; breaks our heart in the process and then humbles, simplifies and enlightens us about the hidden, core nature of the work that enticed us in the first place.”
—David Whyte
Weekly Update
Personal life stuff… 🔔
Hello friends,
Greetings from Austin! 👋 Let’s jump right in!
This past week was exhausting but good because of Memorial weekend and a 4 day work week. Some rapid-fire events:
Leadership summit for church (John Maxwell, laser, tag, and dinner)
Catching up with friends and old roomies
Preparing for our first summer Life Group
Meeting virtual friends in real life
Vision casting and enjoying the first LG together
I’ve also been able to continue and flesh out the game plan for everythingissoldout.com, involving several stages:
Stage 1: Create a dummy website for the domain
Stage 1.5: Create Social media accounts and an email list collector for the website
Stage 2: Have a website with 5-10 unique, memey, dumb, interesting products that are sold out, along with a “product updates” newsletter
Stage 3: Have a monthly newsletter, with 12 month’s worth of content planned out, as well as potential merch and wholesaler relationships to build said unique products.
I’m still trying to figure out key people I need for each stage, but once I can figure that out, I can start hiring and delegating for each stage to see this website unfold!
If you’re interested in ideating with me throughout this process, or know anyone who may be interested in contributing to this idea, feel free to reach out to me on it! (Twitter)
Anyways, here are several pictures from this past week: 📷
Let’s just say it’s an honor and a privilege for y’all to read up to this point! It means the world to me for y’all to plug and chug through all I have to share.
With that, stay safe 😷, keep it savvy 😎, and I’ll see y’all in the next update 😊
Eric
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Good to see you got to meet Dan in real life! Also found the How to Ask Useful Question resource very helpful.