This week was a busy one!
Keeping the house immaculate for viewings, reviewing my annual accounts, changing my accounting software (I refuse to pay Xero £56.40 a month any longer) filming my next video, as well as all the other usual responsibilities.
Plus, I’m visiting family and friends next week so there’s extra pressure to get things done as well as finalizing plans to see them all!
With too much to do and too little time, some things had to give.
The problem with the Eisenhower Matrix
You might have heard of the Eisenhower Matrix. It’s often touted about as the thing to help you prioritise everything you have to do.
The idea is that every task you have to do fits into a quadrant. And each quadrant tells you what you need to do with the task.
| Urgent | Not urgent | |
| Important | Do Do it now | Decide Schedule a time to do it |
| Not important | Delegate Who can do it for you? | Delete Eliminate it |
I’ve never been a big fan of the Eisenhower matrix.
Because it doesn’t actually help you when everything you’re doing is important and urgent and you’re the only person who can do the tasks.
Alternative ways to prioritise
When everything feels important and urgent, the problem isn’t managing your time better, it’s about thinking which tasks actually move you closer to the person you want to be and the life that you want.
Because every decision about what to you choose to do is a vote for that life.
And when you’re someone who cares deeply about growth, people, and doing meaningful work, that decision can get very loud in your head.
The Myth of Balance
We hear a lot about balance, work-life balance, balance between action and rest. And I understand the appeal. Balance sounds calm and the rhetoric seems to be that if you’re balanced then you’re winning.
But when you’re trying to prioritise ten things that all feel meaningful, balance can become a trap.
It tricks you into thinking everything should get equal weight. That if you’re not doing all of it, then you’re failing at something.
How I Think About Prioritising Now
This week, I caught myself spinning. I was trying to do everything at once, afraid to let anything drop.
I had to pause and ask myself better questions.
Instead of:
❌ “What should I do first?”
I asked:
✅ “What matters most right now, in this season of my life?”
That tiny shift helps. Because “right now” gives you permission to let something wait without guilt.
It doesn’t mean you’re giving up on your dreams, or your health, or the other people in your life. It means you’re choosing intention over overwhelm.
The answer to this question meant that I put my video on the back burner to get the house ready for viewings. I chose to prioritise changing to new accounting software that’s only £6 a month instead of £56.40 because that will mean more money in the bank right now, rather than money from YouTube and coaching which is a long way off.
I also try to remember something I once read from Greg McKeown, author of Essentialism:
“If you don’t prioritise your life, someone else will.”
That line hits hard because it’s true.
If you don’t get clear on what matters to you the most, then your inbox, your notifications, and other people’s needs and expectations will dictate how you spend your time.
The Clarity Compass
If you’re facing your own messy pile of important-but-different things, here’s a small exercise I sometimes use when I’m stuck:
- Write down 5 things that genuinely matter to you right now.
Be honest. Not what you think should matter, what actually does. - Circle the one that makes you most uncomfortable.
This is often something that’s tied to fear, but also to growth. The project that feels vulnerable. The step that could actually move the needle. The thing you’ve been avoiding.
For me this was finally moving accounts software! Being dyslexic with numbers make me put off any finance stuff… But now that my accounts are filed for the last financial year, I can swap it and save hundreds of pounds a year. - Underline the one that would make everything else feel easier if it were sorted.
Maybe it’s fixing your curtains to block more light so the sun doesn’t wake you up so early. Maybe it’s finishing a lingering task that’s taking up mental space. Maybe it’s having that one hard conversation. - Now look at your list.
You don’t have to choose between your tasks forever, just decide which one needs a chunk of your energy this week.
This isn’t a perfect science.
But it pulls your decision-making out of your busy, reactive mind and into something more values-based.
A Note on the Things You Can’t Do Right Now
There will always be worthy things you’re not doing. People you’re not getting back to right away. Projects that have to wait.
That’s how priorities work.
Prioritising is not about proving your worth by how much you can carry. It’s about intentionally choosing what to carry today. And trusting that the rest will wait, or evolve, or be picked up later with a clearer mind.
Because you are not a machine. You’re a human with energy that ebbs and flows.
In Case You Needed Permission Today
It’s okay to:
- Let go of balance and focus on one thing.
- Change your mind about what matters this week.
- Choose depth over breadth.
- Say “not now” to something you love, in order to give another thing your full attention.
You can’t do everything. But you can do the right thing, right now.
That’s enough.
Emily xxx
P.S. Keep an eye out for my next video over the weekend! It’s only a couple of hours away from being ready 🙂