On the other hand, an important task is one that provides results. If you weigh out the two tasks it will result in the simplest task (replying the email) being more tempting than completing the more time consuming but more important task. Most probably the task you are doing has a bigger outcome magnitude, however responding the email will give you a sense of accomplishment and effectiveness, which is much more rewarding (at least for the now). The pressure of receiving a new email in your inbox and leaving the notification hanging until you are done with your current task is unbearable. An example of urgent tasks are incoming mails or phone calls. These tasks transmit the feeling that you have to act on them as soon as they are put on your desk. If we look up the word urgency in the dictionary it is defined as “the quality or state of requiring immediate action or attention.” The definition itself highlights the instantaneous responsiveness urgent tasks urge. With the Eisenhower matrix as a starting point this article explains how to achieve effectiveness in project, program and portfolio management by identifying the tasks that are urgent but important and leaving out the ones that are distracting. Urgent activities are much more visible short-term, whereas important matters will pay off on the long run. This article aims to portray the current society in which we live in, where outcomes are needed “for yesterday”. Eisenhower developed a method to classify and plan tasks in relation to these two factors: importance and urgency, in which tasks are organized in a matrix of 2x2, categorized in Do, Schedule, Delegate and Don’t do. There is a global misconception of what is important and what is urgent when it comes to task prioritization. The success rate of projects increases when prioritizing, but not only, it also plays an essential role in the alignment and focus of management teams in the consecution of goals and eliminates uncertainty in decision making for operational teams. And in some cases non of the two are performed. The leaders responsibility is to prioritize tasks and projects, and to make the right decisions while doing it. One of the most important parts of task management is prioritizing. In order to fulfill the established triangle, and therefore the project be a success, there must be an effective task management amongst people in the team. The quality of a project in the center of it all is constrained by the administration of these three factors. This is what is known as the Iron Triangle. A successful project is one that can accomplish a balance between three factors: scope, time and cost.
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