Career and Life Planning Guidebook for Medical Residents

SECTION I: T MINUS THREE YEARS This matrix was developed as an outgrowth from the Eisenhower principal, developed by President Eisenhower to help him manage the multiple complex tasks he faced everyday as the 34th president of the United States (2). When you look at the grid, it reminds you of the skills you employ doing “triage” in the clinical setting. I often keep this in mind when responsibilities from home and work bleed into each other. And though it’s useful to decide what truly needs your attention “RIGHT NOW,” I make sure to spend a little time each day in grid 4: not important, not urgent because sometimes you just need ten minutes to play your favorite game onyour smartphone to clear your head. One of my favorite teaching strategies is to use analogies. They tend to paint a story in my students' and residents' heads and helps them make a visual or visceral connection to the concept being taught. A prime example of this is to think of approaching your daily schedule the same way you would approach cooking a meal: create “pockets of time” for yourself. If you are following a recipe for spaghetti and meatballs, the instructions don’t read: “boil the water, cook the pasta, drain the pasta, then make the meatballs, then the sauce.” This would literally take twice as long, and no one would make this at home again! Instead, the instructions usually read: “prepare pasta according The Eisenhower Decision Matrix URGENT NOT URGENT NOT IMPORTANT IMPORTANT 1 Urgent & Important Not Urgent & Important 2 3 4 Urgent & Not Important Not Urgent & Not Important Do it now Block off time for this Automate or delegate Periodically do this to recharge CAREER AND LIFE PLANNING GUIDEBOOK FOR MEDICAL RESIDENTS 54