Task Preparation – Haley Rietman

What is the main way in which you prepare for an important task? Was there a specific person, event or situation that taught you to prepare in this way?

This blog post was written by Haley Rietman.

Haley is the Program Assistant in the Learning Center. She started in June of this year and has immensely enjoyed working in higher education. By working in the Learning Center, Haley feels that she is able to contribute to the success of students and help them achieve their goals.

“When I have an important task, event, or project I am working on, I believe that preparation is key. I have learned through experience that time management and planning are important to my personal methods of preparation. I like to use what is called Eisenhower’s Decision Matrix to determine what tasks I should put more of my focus into before moving onto the next.

When I was a student in high school, my father always stressed what he called the important/urgent method. This is what I now know as Eisenhower’s matrix. It is a way of using your time efficiently and effectively. After making a to-do list, I decide whether a task is important, urgent, both, or neither. An important assignment would entail something that contributes to one’s long term goals and values. An urgent task is something that should be dealt with in a quick manner. Tasks that are both important and urgent take priority, whereas tasks that are neither can be saved for another day, and tasks that are important will take precedence over tasks that are solely urgent. Therefore, the order of prioritization would be:

  1. Important and Urgent
  2. Important
  3. Urgent
  4. Neither Important nor Urgent

Prioritizing tasks by using this mechanism has benefited my preparation methods far more than anything else I have ever used to prepare.  Below is a diagram that further explains how the matrix should be used and I encourage anyone and everyone to try out this method if you are looking for a new tool to help you manage any and all aspects of your life.”

 

 

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