The Simplest Time Management Model
The 4 D’s Time Management Model
The origins of this model appear to go back to the 34th president of the United States, Dwight Eisenhower. It’s called the Eisenhower Decision Matrix, and it’s referenced in many books. I’ll summarize it below — it’s very simple and doesn’t need much explanation.
It’s one of the simplest priority-management models, and it can be applied to handling anything — including email. First, you have to accept that no one has time for everything, and that everyone wants everything urgently. So how do you handle this dilemma? You start by learning how to focus on one thing instead of doing several tasks at the same time, then you need to convince yourself completely that your time is yours alone, and the freedom to manage it however you like belongs only to you.
This model helps you set priority for matters and makes you decide on the spot how to classify a task — or an email, or a question of whether to attend a meeting, or anything else. The model presents four decisions for you to choose from, based on your personal judgment:
1. Do It Now
This decision applies to the most important tasks that don’t tolerate delay. Also under this category are things that don’t deserve delegation or postponement and that don’t take more than seconds to respond to — those, too, do right away.
2. Decide When to Do It
Anything you must do yourself, but which can tolerate delay or postponement to do later. All you have to do here is decide when you’ll do it so you can come back to it later.
3. Delegate It
Delegation is a discipline of its own. It requires balance, and not everything can be delegated. If a request or inquiry relates to your area but there’s a member of your team who can give an answer faster or help more effectively — or let’s say the employee is at a more junior grade and your time is important enough that it’s not worth wasting on this task — then delegate it to someone else.
4. Dump It
Something landed on your desk that has nothing to do with your goals or the projects you’re working on; an invitation to a meeting that doesn’t concern you (they want you to attend voluntarily); an invitation to a conference; a survey from some research study. In any of the above cases, if you don’t have the time — simply dump it.
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