Parent like a president.

A simple concept to make better 2x decisions…

Author

Adam Pollack
September 17, 2023

Howdy,

Dwight D. Eisenhower had some big achievements during his presidency:

  • Ending the Korean War.

  • Laying the groundwork for our Interstate Highway System.

  • Sending troops to Little Rock, Arkansas, to enforce desegregation.

During a speech in 1954, he said the following:

“I have two kinds of problems, the urgent and the important. The urgent are not important, and the important are never urgent.”

From here, he created a new legacy in the form of…

The Eisenhower Decision Matrix.

For you working parents who make 5,783 decisions every day, it’s an easy framework for doing so in a high-quality way.

Let’s get into the nitty-gritty…

Today, we have…

1. How you parent like a president.

2. The craziest drill from a Hall-of-Fame basketball coach (that has nothing to do with basketball).

3. I bet you didn’t know Trader Joe’s does this.

(If you were forwarded this email, subscribe here).

1. How you parent like a president.

You're juggling work tasks, household chores, quality time with your kids, and maybe even trying to sneak in some self-care.

Want to do a better job of thinking about what to do and when?

Here’s how:

1. Do: The "Urgent and Important" Stuff

Stuff that demands immediate attention.

Examples:

  • Picking up a sick kid

  • Handling a workplace crisis

  • Meeting a critical deadline at work

  • Dealing with a household emergency

2. Decide: The "Not Urgent but Important" Tasks

Your big-picture, long-term goals and activities.

Examples:

  • Exercise

  • Strategic planning

  • Continuing education

  • Quality time with family

3. Delegate: The "Urgent but Not Important" Distractions

Stuff that is a deceptive time-waster.

Examples:

  • Running errands

  • Attending unproductive meetings

  • Responding to nonessential emails

  • Household chores that bring you zero joy

4. Delete: The "Not Urgent and Not Important" Time-Killers

Stuff that provides little to no value.

Examples:

  • Paperwork

  • Doom scrolling

  • Getting wrapped up in gossip

  • Meetings with people outside your company

2. The craziest drill from a Hall-of-Fame basketball coach (and why it matters for parents).

Imagine this…

It’s the 1960’s.

You’re one of the best high school basketball players in the country.

You get recruited to play for legendary coach, John Wooden at UCLA.

Your report to your first practice on campus.

You walk into the gym and are full of nerves and adrenaline.

You’re ready to compete.

Ready to prove that you belong there.

Coach Wooden welcomes you and sits you down and says…

“Let’s start with the basics. Our first drill, has nothing to do with dribbling, shooting, or passing…”

So, where did Coach Wooden start?

At first glance, this may seem trivial.

But Wooden knew something that most didn’t…

Success on the court comes from mastering what you can control (inputs) and letting go of everything you can’t (outputs).

100 free throws every day is a much better goal than winning a championship.

It's easy to get caught up in molding our children into what we think they should be.

We focus on outputs:

Getting straight A's.

Hitting every milestone.

Being the best on their team.

Instead, we should be more mindful of the inputs.

The controllable actions that compound over time to get those results.

I'm talking about...

  • Consistency

  • Hard work

  • Kindness

  • Patience

So, when you see your kid excelling at any of these…

3. I bet you didn’t know Trader Joe’s does this.

Whaaa??? Your kids are going to be pumped…

@_mariaroberts

What animals do you have at your Trader Joe’s!? We have a duck and a turtle, Frank and Steve haha. #traderjoes #traderjoesfoodreviews #tra... See more

P.S. If this was helpful, take 1 minute to forward it to a friend or family member. It takes me 2+ hrs to make.

See ya next week!

.