He was our President. This is what he said…

For entrepreneurs, every day is different. One day you’re signing partnership agreements. The next day you’re interviewing job applicants. And the following day pitching investors.

Yet there is one thing you can always count on, despite the day … distractions!

“Hey, can you send me a copy of the agreement?”

“Will you shoot over this month’s revenue report?”

“Umm … the server just crashed. What should we do?”

Constantly distracted by external requests (let alone internal thoughts or ideas, which can be the most distracting), it’s easy to forget long-term goals.

However, there’s a systematic approach to stay focused.

It’s called the Dwight Eisenhower’s Time Management Matrix.

In a 1954 speech, former U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower said: “What is important is seldom urgent and what is urgent is seldom important.”

He recognized that great time management means being effective as well as efficient. In other words, we must spend our time on things that are important and not just the ones that are urgent. To do this, and to minimize the stress of having too many tight deadlines, we need to understand this distinction:

• Important activities have an outcome that leads to us achieving our goals, whether these are professional or personal.

• Urgent activities demand immediate attention, and are usually associated with achieving someone else’s goals. They are often the ones we concentrate on and they demand attention because the consequences of not dealing with them are immediate.

When we know which activities are important and which are urgent, we can overcome the natural tendency to focus on unimportant urgent activities, so that we can clear enough time to do what’s essential for our success. This is the way we move from “firefighting” into a position where we can grow our businesses and our careers.

Rather than randomly completing unprioritized tasks, put them into the template. This forces you to question a task’s importance.

Take a few seconds. Stop. Take a breath. Think…

“Do I specialize in this?”

“Does it contribute to my long-term goals?”

“Could someone else do this? Should I focus on something else?”

Simply write in your new task, label it by quadrant, then delete the task once you’re finished.

There is a free EISENHOWER online web app, click HERE.

There is also an iOS app, click HERE.

Drop me a line if this helps you be more productive.

Happy Tuesday & Happy Selling!

Kevin