Using Veitia Matrices For Effective Prioritization
Imagine this: you’re running Facebook Ads for a FinTech based halfway around the world, Twitter Ads for a startup from a country you didn’t even know existed before you signed a contract, and about a dozen other campaigns for realtors, law practices, healthcare workers, and e-Commerce shops. This setup isn’t all that uncommon. In fact, if you’re a successful freelance marketer then it’s very much the norm.
Once your freelance business gets to half-dozen clients you need to prioritize your time effectively if you want to avoid burnout and losing your hard-earned client base.
So how do you do it? How can you juggle all that work and still deliver stellar results for your clients?
Enter The Veitia Matrices.
What are
Veitia Matrices?
Some of you might be familiar with the Eisenhower Matrix (or the impact effort matrix). Based on the time-management practices of former US President Dwight D. Eisenhower, the matrix allows you to prioritize your time by creating four quadrants. You then slot your various tasks in each quadrant based on their urgency and importance.
I used the Eisenhower Matrix for years, but as I delved deeper into my own productivity journey and increased my understanding of Power Laws like Pareto’s Principle (The 80/20 Rule) and the importance of successful natural energy management, I decided it was a bit lacking.
I decided it was time to take another look at the Eisenhower Matrix and bring it into the 21st century, so I made the following changes:
Two Matrices are needed. Why? You aren’t capable of accomplishing the same things when you are operating at peak physical, mental, and emotional levels as when you’re running on empty. That being said, your clients still want you to keep moving things along. To remedy this, the Veitia Matrices are a series of two Matrices, one labeled ‘High Energy’ and one labeled ‘Low Energy’.
The Veitia Matrices prioritize based on ‘Greatest Impact’ to ‘Lowest Impact’ and ‘Urgent’ to ‘Non-Urgent’. This essentially incorporates Pareto’s Principle into both of the matrices, allowing you to always remain anchored and focused on the tasks that will have the greatest impact on you, your business, and your clients.
Beyond those two changes, ‘Urgent’ and ‘Non-Urgent’ are still retained.
Creating
Veitia Matrices
Here’s the quickest way to create the two Veitia Matrices. Take a blank piece of paper and draw a cross in the middle of it, extending out to the edges. Then take another blank piece of paper and draw a cross in the middle of it, extending out to the edges. Label the first quadrant ‘High-Impact, High-Urgency’, the second quadrant as ‘High-Impact, Low-Urgency’, the third quadrant as ‘Low-Impact, High-Urgency’, and the fourth quadrant as ‘Low-Impact, Low-Urgency’. Do this for the second Veitia Matrix. Once done, label one Matrix as ‘High Energy’ and one as ‘Low Energy’. Boom. You just created your first Veitia Matrices.
Understanding The Difference Between ‘Impact’ and ‘Urgency’
At first glance, you might think to yourself ‘Well, if something has a high impact shouldn’t it be ‘urgent’ as well? Not necessarily. High-Impact tasks represent the ‘vital few’ 20% of the tasks that will represent 80% of your desired outcome. Whether or not something is ‘Urgent’ depends on other factors including your energy level, client-side deadlines, product life cycles, or other internal or external factors (many of which are beyond your direct control – you cannot simply will yourself to not feel sluggish after that big burger-and-fries lunch for example)
Here are a few impacts of High-Impact, High-Urgency Tasks vs High-Impact, Low-Urgency Tasks to underscore the above point:
High-Impact, High-Urgency Tasks:
A critical system error that needs to be fixed immediately to prevent a new ad campaign launch from missing a deadline.
A major customer complaint on social media needs to be resolved urgently to prevent loss of business or brand reputation damage.
A deadline for your client to approve marketing copy is approaching quickly and requires immediate action from your client to ensure it is completed on time.
High-Impact, Low-Urgency Tasks:
Developing a new marketing strategy for a product that won't be launched for several quarters.
Conducting thorough market research to identify potential new product lines.
Creating a long-term business plan for your one-person agency next year.
To reiterate, in both cases, the tasks have a high impact on the overall success of the project or goal. However, the urgency of the task is what differentiates them. High-Impact, High-Urgency tasks require immediate attention and action, while High-Impact, Low-Urgency tasks can be scheduled and completed at a later time without affecting the overall outcome.
What about Low-Impact, High-Urgency Tasks vs Low-Impact, Low-Urgency Tasks? Again, the difference between them is not the overall impact it’ll have on your desired outcome but how time-sensitive they are.
Examples of the different tasks and where they fall into these two lower quadrants include:
Low-Impact, Low-Urgency Tasks:
Updating your client’s social media profile picture (Unless it really sucks)
Responding to non-essential emails
Sitting in on a meeting that does not concern you and which you have little to contribute to.
Low-Impact, High-Urgency Tasks
Conducting a quick survey to gather feedback from customers on a recent product launch
Creating and scheduling social media posts for an upcoming event or promotion
Writing a blog article on your website teasing an upcoming launch
Using Veitia Matrices
Okay, so now you have your Veitia Matrices set up and you know the difference between each of the quadrants. Now what? Does this tool have to be super unwieldy? Do I need to do this exercise daily?
Not necessarily. You can use the Veitia Matrices as an ad hoc ‘reframing’ device which allows you to take a number of tasks and immediately figure out which ones to prioritize.
Here’s how I use mine:
I start with a mind sweep. Block out 30 minutes of your time and list as many of the things that are on your mind as possible. Write them down. It doesn’t matter whether or not they’re related to marketing or your business at the moment. If they’re on your mind then they’re taking up your ‘mental RAM’ and, since your brain is for having ideas and not storing them, then you need to get them off of your mind and onto paper. Commit to the full 30 minutes and really push yourself to get as many things off of your mind as possible.
Make sure your mind sweep items are not projects but rather tasks. Tasks are clearly defined and shouldn’t be multi-step. (E.g ‘Create a Marketing Strategy’ is a project, ‘Take 20 minutes to do a SWOT analysis for my client’ is a task – the difference is that one of them contains multiple tasks and the other is a one-off task that is well-defined)
Once you have them on paper then take four colored highlighters. Each one will be assigned to one of the quadrants. Yellow for ‘high-impact, high urgency, for example. Based on where you want to assign them on the matrix, highlight each task on your Mindsweep.
Take two other markers (not highlighters) and assign them to ‘High Energy’ or ‘Low Energy’. Go through your list again and add a dot at the beginning of each task depending on the energy levels required to accomplish them.
Re-write your tasks, adding them to the Matrix that corresponds with their assigned energy level and the quadrant that you previously assigned when you highlighted them.
After completing the four steps, you should have your Veitia Matrices filled out.
Beyond
Veitia Matrices
Now what? What do you do with the filled-out Veitia Matrices? Well, that’s largely dependent on how willing you (or your client) is willing to indulge in ‘Low-Impact’ tasks, your energy levels, etc.
My suggestion is to use the Veitia Matrices as follows:
High Energy/Low Energy
Quadrant 1 (High-Impact, High-Urgency): Do these immediately. Do not procrastinate on these tasks.
Quadrant 2 (Low-Impact, High-Urgency): Delegate. Use AI if possible.
Quadrant 3 (High-Impact, Low-Urgency): Plan. Schedule these for later. They’ll eventually become urgent.
Quadrant 4 (Low-Impact, Low-Urgency): Purposefully procrastinate. Use the dopamine kick you get when you cross these off in order to trick your mind into thinking it completed a task. Build on that momentum and continue on.
What’s Next?
I want your feedback. Start using the Veitia Matrices as part of your own productivity and let me know if it helps you. I’ll regularly update this blog post with feedback and FAQs.
And if you’ve used the Veitia Matrices but want something a bit more in-depth and thorough, I invite you to check out the full Marketing Ronin Methodology of which the Veitia Matrices is simply a part of.
