[et_pb_section fb_built=“1″ _builder_version=“4.27.4″ background_enable_color=“off“ global_colors_info=“{%22gcid-ff167076-b4c5-4e2e-a715-50d3f49d16ce%22:%91%22background_color%22%93}“ theme_builder_area=“post_content“][et_pb_row _builder_version=“4.27.4″ background_size=“initial“ background_position=“top_left“ background_repeat=“repeat“ global_colors_info=“{}“ theme_builder_area=“post_content“][et_pb_column type=“4_4″ _builder_version=“4.27.4″ background_color=“RGBA(255,255,255,0)“ background_enable_image=“off“ custom_padding=“|||“ global_colors_info=“{}“ custom_padding__hover=“|||“ theme_builder_area=“post_content“][et_pb_text _builder_version=“4.27.4″ header_4_font=“Lato|700|||||||“ background_size=“initial“ background_position=“top_left“ background_repeat=“repeat“ hover_enabled=“0″ global_colors_info=“{%22gcid-918bfb31-49d9-4d67-868a-81697244072a%22:%91%22header_4_text_color%22%93}“ theme_builder_area=“post_content“ sticky_enabled=“0″]<\/p>\n
Anyone who\u2019s worked with me knows that I\u2019m preoccupied with two things that often feel at odds: getting things done, and making sure we don\u2019t lose our humanity in the process.<\/p>\n
When I first entered the work force, I was mainly concerned with getting things done. Much of that pressure was self-imposed: in my early 20s, I wanted to establish myself. I read the productivity books and spent a lot of energy thinking about how I could squeeze more work out of each hour.<\/p>\n
If I were to summarize those years (that decade, really) with a single image, it would be the Eisenhower matrix<\/a>, which plots tasks according to their level of urgency and importance.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/sub><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image _builder_version=“4.27.4″ _module_preset=“default“ theme_builder_area=“post_content“ title_text=“Eisenhower“ src=“https:\/\/intellerate.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Eisenhower-1.jpg“ hover_enabled=“0″ sticky_enabled=“0″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=“4.27.4″ _module_preset=“default“ theme_builder_area=“post_content“ hover_enabled=“0″ sticky_enabled=“0″]<\/p>\n Credit: thecoachingtoolscompany.com<\/a><\/p>\n I loved that matrix. I still use it, at least in the abstract, to stay focused. But this matrix has its drawbacks. If you or your organization is under-resourced and overextended, you\u2019re probably still spending a lot of time in that Urgent\/Important (aka Crises) quadrant, without much bandwidth for Goals and Planning. (If this resonates with you, strategic planning can help.) More critically, the Eisenhower Matrix doesn\u2019t offer much real estate to serendipitous personal connection. Is that spontaneous coffee with a colleague an interruption or a distraction? Does it matter if you spend your time brainstorming a project idea, venting about a new organizational policy, or catching up on your children?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n These days, I use a different matrix. As I described in a previous newsletter<\/a>, the Integral Facilitation model restores the critical, human elements to the way we approach work. Task, process, self, and culture are all equally important: they require both attention and intention. (And even if you believe you don\u2019t have time to \u201cdo culture,\u201d you are actually doing it every day<\/a>, whether you realize it or not.)<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image _builder_version=“4.27.4″ _module_preset=“default“ theme_builder_area=“post_content“ title_text=“Screenshot 2025-10-16 at 8.35.20 AM“ src=“https:\/\/intellerate.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Screenshot-2025-10-16-at-8.35.20-AM.png“ hover_enabled=“0″ sticky_enabled=“0″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=“4.27.4″ _module_preset=“default“ theme_builder_area=“post_content“ hover_enabled=“0″ sticky_enabled=“0″]<\/p>\n Credit: Living Giving Enterprises<\/a><\/p>\n Both matrices are useful heuristics, yet they tend to work best when you have time and mental space to plan.<\/p>\n And frankly, these don\u2019t feel like normal times. Across all my work\u2014whether with consulting clients, volunteer commitments, or community organizing\u2014I keep encountering the same thing: people are tired and overwhelmed. If they\u2019re fortunate enough to have a job, they may be losing friends and colleagues to layoffs, facing job insecurity due to looming federal cuts, and being asked to do more with less. Especially for those working in higher education and mission-driven organizations, they\u2019re experiencing demoralizing attacks on their core values.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re feeling drained, you\u2019re not alone. And if you\u2019re leading an organization, odds are that your team is feeling drained as well.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a ready recipe for paralysis.<\/p>\n How do you break out of it? Here\u2019s my final image:<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image _builder_version=“4.27.4″ _module_preset=“default“ theme_builder_area=“post_content“ title_text=“cristian-escobar-abkEAOjnY0s-unsplash(1)“ src=“https:\/\/intellerate.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/cristian-escobar-abkEAOjnY0s-unsplash1.jpg“ hover_enabled=“0″ sticky_enabled=“0″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=“4.27.4″ _module_preset=“default“ theme_builder_area=“post_content“ hover_enabled=“0″ sticky_enabled=“0″]<\/p>\n Photo by Cristian Escobar<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/span><\/p>\nConsider Culture<\/h3>\n
Add energy<\/h3>\n