I appreciate these distinctions, David. All too often we treat that funnel as the Plinko board. An opportunity drops in and we just passively see where it lands.
Oh man, that is an AWESOME metaphor! My wife is a "Price is Right" fan and I'm gonna bring this up with her. Mind if I use the Plinko illustration in future writings on this. Perfect.
Eisenhower box/matrix. I'm excel-sheeted up on some custom-mashed stuff (all sortable). From left to right: Decide by date; Category; 1-to-10 (an intuitive feeling of the importance/urgency of a task relative to my other tasks); Task (a note on the task itself); Resources (available or not); Easy (yes or no); Urgent; Important; Zone (relates to the Eisenhower box, 4 being not urgent not important, 1 being important and urgent); Time management (a guess at how long it'll take me to complete the task; I've gotten within 15 minutes of most tasks consistently, estimating the amount of content and how long it takes me to do a portion of that content); and last, Related (are there other tasks this is related to; sorting by the related column allows me to set a to-do list for a project/task).
I keep a legend of these for my own information (otherwise how would I remember that 13 is soft skill learning/professional development).
Additionally, I've got a master list of skill metrics/competencies to consider my learning objectives.
All in all, this excel sheet is wonderfully helpful when I'm using it actively, takes very little time to use, and helps me prioritize my time (and decreases procrastination because I can block my day out based on my time estimations, flexibly).
When I'm dysfunctional, this list serves as an anchor. A guilt/shame icon to remind me of what I've yet failed to complete.
There was a tool I heard someone recommend one time which involved putting balls or rocks in a jar, and every time I complete something to put it in as a visual representation of my activity. Struggle is that same issue with the guilt/shame cycle.
Additionally, there's several "rules of thumb" I've got posted on my walls to remind me occasionally about things that make my life easier.
One touch rule: do it (or schedule it), delete it, delegate it.
2-minute rule: if it can be completed in 2 minutes or less, just do it.
Lastly, there's a Trigger List from Get Things Done that has a whole list of responsibilities, activities, etc., that can "trigger" a memory of "Oh that's right" - or in my case, serve as a list from which to draw further stuff to get done.
In reading through your stuff I was reminded of not only the Eisenhower Box but also the GTD system which is so helpful. My list here in the opportunity filter is more about the nuances between the boxes perhaps. :-)
I bet your spreadsheet is a work of art, man. So great when you get something that helps you figure out how to make things happen in a way that fits you. The 2 minute rule is key (and the inverse: if more than 2 minutes--schedule it (or in my case, schedule the task for a day, even if not the time)
One of the things I've greatly wrestled with is zone 4 (or the dodge section). I'm sure you don't mean for this to be a universally applicable opportunities filter, but I always jump to language learning for an example of my struggle with "dodging" (deleting). There's no reason to learn languages, it's a huge task, and the only thing motivating my intention is that I want to be able to communicate with others in their first language. This was a part of my business/sales past, wherein I felt I had an edge for selling people if I could even just greet them in their first language. As a pastor, I find this is one of those things that I've given to God, but still continue to wonder about as I consider all the ministries floating around in our (minimally) multi-cultural area.
I hugely appreciate the insight that goes into the "warning" section, which is something my egocentric list isn't - other-focused. I'm reading a book called "You Are What You Love" by James K.A. Smith, and I'm finding that the push to "love" as habit as opposed to doing, thinking, resting, or being (as well in this context I'd add scheduling, organizing, strategizing, etc.), is a challenge I'm feeling pulled towards.
As I look at what God's doing both sodalically (inside) and modalically (outside) my local church context, how can I engage with what He's already doing in a way that loves others better through filters like these, pushes the Kingdom goals forward, while also keeping my "gotta get more done" attitude to the side.
Your list has a perspective of "love" or relationship that is a significant improvement over the cold cells of my excel sheet. How to integrate, mutate, and continue to build my Frankenstein...
well, thanks for that... good insights into the delete/dodge thinking. I'm dropping the next article on this tomorrow--on the Dodge dynamics, which can be tricky.
Reading it as part of the recommendations on John Mark Comer's "Practicing the Way" discipleship space for his church. You can see it at https://practicingtheway.org/
I appreciate these distinctions, David. All too often we treat that funnel as the Plinko board. An opportunity drops in and we just passively see where it lands.
Oh man, that is an AWESOME metaphor! My wife is a "Price is Right" fan and I'm gonna bring this up with her. Mind if I use the Plinko illustration in future writings on this. Perfect.
Absolutely!
Eisenhower box/matrix. I'm excel-sheeted up on some custom-mashed stuff (all sortable). From left to right: Decide by date; Category; 1-to-10 (an intuitive feeling of the importance/urgency of a task relative to my other tasks); Task (a note on the task itself); Resources (available or not); Easy (yes or no); Urgent; Important; Zone (relates to the Eisenhower box, 4 being not urgent not important, 1 being important and urgent); Time management (a guess at how long it'll take me to complete the task; I've gotten within 15 minutes of most tasks consistently, estimating the amount of content and how long it takes me to do a portion of that content); and last, Related (are there other tasks this is related to; sorting by the related column allows me to set a to-do list for a project/task).
I keep a legend of these for my own information (otherwise how would I remember that 13 is soft skill learning/professional development).
Additionally, I've got a master list of skill metrics/competencies to consider my learning objectives.
All in all, this excel sheet is wonderfully helpful when I'm using it actively, takes very little time to use, and helps me prioritize my time (and decreases procrastination because I can block my day out based on my time estimations, flexibly).
When I'm dysfunctional, this list serves as an anchor. A guilt/shame icon to remind me of what I've yet failed to complete.
There was a tool I heard someone recommend one time which involved putting balls or rocks in a jar, and every time I complete something to put it in as a visual representation of my activity. Struggle is that same issue with the guilt/shame cycle.
Additionally, there's several "rules of thumb" I've got posted on my walls to remind me occasionally about things that make my life easier.
One touch rule: do it (or schedule it), delete it, delegate it.
2-minute rule: if it can be completed in 2 minutes or less, just do it.
Lastly, there's a Trigger List from Get Things Done that has a whole list of responsibilities, activities, etc., that can "trigger" a memory of "Oh that's right" - or in my case, serve as a list from which to draw further stuff to get done.
In reading through your stuff I was reminded of not only the Eisenhower Box but also the GTD system which is so helpful. My list here in the opportunity filter is more about the nuances between the boxes perhaps. :-)
I bet your spreadsheet is a work of art, man. So great when you get something that helps you figure out how to make things happen in a way that fits you. The 2 minute rule is key (and the inverse: if more than 2 minutes--schedule it (or in my case, schedule the task for a day, even if not the time)
One of the things I've greatly wrestled with is zone 4 (or the dodge section). I'm sure you don't mean for this to be a universally applicable opportunities filter, but I always jump to language learning for an example of my struggle with "dodging" (deleting). There's no reason to learn languages, it's a huge task, and the only thing motivating my intention is that I want to be able to communicate with others in their first language. This was a part of my business/sales past, wherein I felt I had an edge for selling people if I could even just greet them in their first language. As a pastor, I find this is one of those things that I've given to God, but still continue to wonder about as I consider all the ministries floating around in our (minimally) multi-cultural area.
I hugely appreciate the insight that goes into the "warning" section, which is something my egocentric list isn't - other-focused. I'm reading a book called "You Are What You Love" by James K.A. Smith, and I'm finding that the push to "love" as habit as opposed to doing, thinking, resting, or being (as well in this context I'd add scheduling, organizing, strategizing, etc.), is a challenge I'm feeling pulled towards.
As I look at what God's doing both sodalically (inside) and modalically (outside) my local church context, how can I engage with what He's already doing in a way that loves others better through filters like these, pushes the Kingdom goals forward, while also keeping my "gotta get more done" attitude to the side.
Your list has a perspective of "love" or relationship that is a significant improvement over the cold cells of my excel sheet. How to integrate, mutate, and continue to build my Frankenstein...
well, thanks for that... good insights into the delete/dodge thinking. I'm dropping the next article on this tomorrow--on the Dodge dynamics, which can be tricky.
I need to read that JKA Smith book. facinating
Reading it as part of the recommendations on John Mark Comer's "Practicing the Way" discipleship space for his church. You can see it at https://practicingtheway.org/
https://practicingtheway.org/bookstore that's the bookstore with recommendations for discipleship books.