If your day is like mine, you are back to working 8+ hours a day, traveling for business, and trying to manage the family and pets’ day- to-day. The industry I love has returned and so has the uneven balance of work and life.

The Eisenhower Principle, modeled after Dwight D. Eisenhower, can give us some guidance on how to be more productive and lessen time wasted. Before becoming the 34^th US President, he had already achieved how to live one of the most productive lives you can imagine. He was:

A 5 Star General in the US Army serving as the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe during WWII.(add bullet here)Responsible for planning and executing the invasions of North Africa, France, and Germany.

·        Served as President of Columbia University

·        Served as the Supreme Commander of NATO

·        Loved to play golf and do oil painting

Eisenhower’s incredible ability to sustain productivity didn’t last for weeks or months. It lasted for decades. For that very reason, his methods for sustaining that length of productivity have been studied by many to try to understand his method.

His famous strategy is known as the Eisenhower Box or Matrix. It’s a simple decision-making tool that anyone can use to assess how to assign tasks a level or priority to maintain productivity. The strategy for organizing your tasks is simple when we consider using the matrix below, to separate our actions based on four possibilities.

1.      Urgent & Important (tasks you must do immediately)

2.      Important, but not urgent (tasks you will schedule to do later)

3.      Urgent, but not important (tasks you will delegate to someone else)

4.      Neither urgent nor important (tasks that you will eliminate)

This matrix can be used for life’s productivity decisions – “How should I spend my time each week?” or “What should I do today?”. Here is how the Eisenhower Box reflect the decision on prioritization:

How do you fill in your matrix? It’s key to know the difference between Urgent and Important.

-         Urgent – requires immediate attention. I.e. deadline driven deliverables, issues that come with clear consequences.

-         Important – those actions that contribute to the mission, value, and long-term goals

-         Urgent & Non Important – aka Busy Work. Bring you no closer to any of your goals, just takes up your time. i.e. checking the phone whenever it goes off; responding to texts and social media

-         Not Urgent & Not Important – aka Wasted Time. No value adds to your day or your productivity. Items include: watching TV for hours, social media, online browsing.

But do we consider that “Important tasks are actions that contribute to a long-term mission, value, or goal?” Knowing the difference is simple to do once or twice but, doing it repeatedly can be tough. Consistency is the hard part.

Not everything has to be done. Force yourself to make the hard decisions to eliminate any task that does not lead you towards your mission, value, or goal.

Ask the question “What am I working towards?” “What is the core value that drives this choice?”

Changes take time but, knowing how to make those hard decisions for change will lead you to a work life balance as the world around us gets busier and busier, in a good way!

Visit Eisenhower.me to learn more.

Adele Perkins, HMCC

MPI New Jersey Director of Membership

Senior Operations Manager, Meeting Alliance

SUPPLIERS: There are still a few foursome and sponsorship opportunities available. Sign up today to secure your spot!

PLANNERS: If you would like to be a hosted buyer, for either Golf or Sip, Swing & Dine, please click on button below and you'll be paired with a team.

DONATIONS: Contribute to MPI New Jersey's biggest fundraiser of the year and donate a raffle prize for the event. You do not need to attend the event to donate and all items are welcome.

DATE: Thursday, June 9, 2022

LOCATION: Crystal Springs Resort

1 Wild Turkey Way

Hamburg, NJ

Join us on our VIRTUAL Town Hall as we hear first hand from each department and induct our new Board. There will be plenty of time for Q&A, so please bring questions for your Chapter Leaders.

DATE: Wednesday, June 29th

TIME: 1:00pm - 2:00pm

LOCATION: Virtual

If you answered YES to any of these questions; the Education Committee wants to hear from you! We want to meet, and exceed, our members' expectations while continuing to deliver award-winning educational programs all year long. 

Please email Kim Cowperthwait, VP of Education, and share your feedback.

Official registration partner of MPI New Jersey

Save $50 on WEC San Francisco registration* May 25^th-26^th! Use promo code MPI@50 at checkout. Hope to see you in San Fran!

*Cannot be combined with other offers. Promotion is for new planner and supplier registrations. Discount good through May 26^th, 2022 at 11:59pm CST. Additional exclusions apply.

Written by: Elise Schoening

Written by: Bernie Schraer

MPI New Jersey is powered by volunteers and we are looking for a few good members to assist with the following committees:

Whether you have a few hours a week or a month to give, we appreciate your time and talent to help make MPI New Jersey better. Plus we work to help you build skills that you want or need to help you in your professional career.

Contact us to determine the best fit for you and your schedule!

Planners, you have a job to do and MPI can help!

Our friends at PCMA Philadelphia are hosting a Tailgate Trade Show on Thursday, June 2nd and you and your meeting planning team are invited to attend. During this unique outdoor trade show you will be able to visit in-person with destinations, hotels, venues, event service companies, and more!