DRIP matrix
The DRIP matrix: four squares every working hour belongs to
What is the DRIP matrix? Delegation, replacement, investment and production explained: how hours land in the squares and what to do with each one.
5 min readAIKAA editorial
What is the DRIP matrix?
The DRIP matrix is the result of the audit, not a separate exercise. Every logged hour lands in one of four squares according to what you marked for money and energy. The square says what happens to the hour.
| Square | Money | Energy | What to do |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delegation | Low | Drains | Move it first |
| Replacement | High | Drains | Systematise into a playbook |
| Investment | Low | Charges | Protect it |
| Production | High | Charges | Live here |
What happens to the delegation square?
It moves first. Cheap, draining work is the easiest to hand over, and its leaving pays for everything else. In the demo workspace nearly half of the owner's hours were in this square.
Why does the replacement square not move straight to a person?
Because it is expensive work. If you hand it over without instructions, it comes back. Replacement work is written as a playbook first: recorded once, written once, and only then given away.
Why does the investment square disappear first?
Because it does not pay yet. Reading, training, a partner lunch and thinking time are the first things a busy week eats – and their absence only shows a year later. The matrix makes visible how little of it there was.
What is the aim for the production square?
The goal is not balance but production. The more of the week is work that is both valuable and energising, the less holiday you need to recover from it.
Frequently asked
What does DRIP stand for?
Four squares: Delegation, Replacement, Investment and Production. The square is set by whether the hour made money and whether it gave energy.
Which DRIP square moves first?
The delegation square: cheap, draining work. It is the easiest to hand over, and its leaving frees time for everything else.
Is the DRIP matrix filled in by hand?
Not in AIKAA. The matrix comes from the audit entries, so it cannot be read in your own favour.
AIKAA is a private membership. Every workspace is built by hand for the person who uses it, so places are filled by application.
