My executive coaching client was being completely overwhelmed. After a download of a long list of things on his plate, I asked him how he would like to do things differently.
He continued to list more things he wanted to do. A lot of shoulding and musting of course.
I asked again, this time highlighting and suggesting to separate the what and the how.
Some probing and he got the gist, and came up himself to use the Eisenhower Matrix. Wonderful, my coachees are so resourceful.
And oh my, what insight we found in the not urgent-not important quadrant.
My client is an incredibly empathetic person, yet also a self-confessed people pleaser. The things in the bottom right quadrant were mostly favors asked by others.
| Okay, so what would you like to do about them? Eisenhower Matrix suggests to eliminate (delete) them.
| Oh no, I can’t do that, it’s going to hurt the relationship.
| Okay, that’s a choice. But as a consequence, what happens?
Reality hits and awareness, consciousness, understanding is born.
We have finite capacity. By attending to the zombies, our energy is sucked away from doing, delegating and scheduling more urgent or important things.
Mental models, the many frameworks of how, really help. Let’s make good use of them.
If this resonated
Mental models are a curious kind of tool, fast and slow at once. They are useful in the instant, yet they also quietly open a space to reflect. That's why learning through mental models tends to stick. If you would like more like this, here are some ways to stay connected.
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