Impact Matrix: Manage Your Time & Energy
Managing your energy and time will help you get more done and enjoy your work! Use this Impact Matrix to help you choose quick wins and avoid draining your energy with projects with a low impact and wasting your time.
To use this matrix, consider your tasks in terms of how much energy (effort) and time they cost you.
Download The Impact Matrix Worksheet:
Step 1
Make a list of everything you are doing.
Step 2
Score these using a 1 to 10 scale, 1 being a little impact and 10 being a significant impact. Use the same scale for energy (effort), 1 is little energy and 10 is significant energy required.
Step 3
Plot the activities on the Impact Matrix based on your scores.
Step 4
Look at your matrix and consider the following questions:
- What planning and preparation needs to happen?
- What can you delegate?
- Are you clear on what your mission-critical activities are?
Quick Wins (High Impact, Low Effort)
Quick wins are ideal; they provide the best return for minimal effort. How can you have more quick wins?
Is there preparation you need to do to have more quick wins? Can you break up your Mission projects into smaller chunks and energize yourself with Quick Wins?
Mission Projects (High Impact, High Effort)
Mission projects are those projects that will provide a great return. However, they do require significant effort. These are the most critical projects to help you achieve your mission-critical objectives. You have to balance your time and energy so that you do not miss quick wins because you are drained or consumed by your Mission projects.
Fill Ins (Low Impact, Low Effort)
These are projects you do WHEN YOU HAVE THE TIME.
Think about delegating these projects, automating them if possible.
Are these necessary activities? Are they because you have a hard time saying No?
Be honest!
Timewasters (Low Impact, High Effort)
Avoid these activities. Not only do they give little return, they also soak up time that you should be using on quick wins.
You may be engaged in these activities because you lack clarity around your mission-critical objectives.
Are you saying ‘Yes,’ to activities that you need today, ‘No,’ too?
Download the Tracker
Click the download link and use the worksheet to plot your activities in each quadrant.
