The Heroik Decision Matrix: 1 System 6 tips to Help You Decide What to Do First and Get it done
Are you ready to decide what to do right NOW? Do you feel overwhelmed with tasks but don’t know where to start?Enter the Decision Matrix. What is the Matrix? The decision matrix is a simple chart that will help you score and rank your tasks. By ranking different aspects of a task (1-5), adding the scores up and compare them with other tasks, you can quickly decide what task(s) you should start first.
You can create your own matrix on a blank sheet of paper or download the FREE Heroik Decision Matrix PDF template. There are 7 columns and 7 rows. Across the top label the columns Task, Enjoyment, Impact, Effort and Energy, Profitability, Alignment with Vision, and Total Score. Leave the most room for the task column as the rest will have numbers in them. For each row, write down your task item.
By default there is room for 6 tasks, but you can add more if you like. I recommend sticking to your top 5-6 tasks that you already feel are important or conflicted about.
The Final Four Tip- If you are neurotic and decide to rate all the tasks you can dream up. I recommend taking your top 4 tasks from that effort, and taking them to the final 4. Put them up against each other and rate them again in comparison to each other. This second filter will help you drill down.
Prioritize and Organize After You’ve Rated Your Tasks.
Once you have your top 6 tasks scored, you can prioritize them based on their total score. Take the top scoring tasks and get to work.
6 Tips For Staying on Task
If your energy, motivation or momentum drops as you’re attempting to bust out your work try these tips.
- Stay Motivated by Aiming for The Enjoyable Energy Boosters- Use the matrix to find a task that’s highly enjoyable first, and start there. Double your enjoyable score if you need a boost. The small, enjoyable win will boost your energy, positive feelings and mindset to give you the juice and the momentum you need to take on your other tasks.
- Limit yourself to two things to accomplish each day. It’s all about the self reinforcing victory loop: small wins reinforce good feelings, thoughts and perceptions that motivate, and inspire, fuel, and motivate you to more wins.
- Choose two outcomes or goals within a given focus each day. Define what a small daily win would be for you. When it comes to the daily or self-micromanagement world, aim for a step ladder not the stars. What outcomes would leave you feeling alright?
- Grab a timer and attack tasks in small chunks. Try getting things done in small increments, I recommend testing 12, 15,17, 20,23 and 30 minutes. Why so many? The idea is to get the most done in the least amount of time while avoiding the habit of subscribing to the “hourly” habit. This is about self management, efficiency and productivity not effort per hour. The only added tool required is a timer of some kind. Here’s a revolutionary recommendation: buy a digital watch: Timex Men’s Ironman Watch
($23) or Timex Women’s Sports Watch
($15). A watch at Wal-Mart will suffice as well. Aim for simplicity. Here are a few fancier timer tools for digital devices that can help: Pomodairo Mac/Win/Adobe Air, klok (Mac), orzeszek (win), and Focus Booster (mac/win/adobe air). And for the mobile crowd, aside from built in timers on phones, I also like 30/30 for the iPad.
- Take more breaks, play a little, be sure to move around and for God’s sake move around a bit! Studies have shown that breaks and light exercise (movement), increases your creativity, problem solving ability, negotiating power, while boosting your energy and positive feelings. All that from a little motion? Yup. Go for a walk- get some blood flowing. I also regularly have mobile meetings in parks, stand up and pace or walk rooms when I think about tasks, and take breaks to exercise throughout the day.
- Clean up your email habit. Avoid/limit checking email throughout the day, disable alerts on your phone and desktop. When you do check your inbox, make sure you can focus on the essential and the important. Check out our filter pack for gmail, or develop your own. Be sure to read our post about cleaning up the inbox habit here.
Thanks again!! This is just what I need.