The Eisenhower Matrix: Prioritize Your Time on What ...

The Eisenhower Matrix is a simple decision-making tool that helps you make the distinction between tasks that are important, not important, ... ·blogWriteLouderWorkSmarterBehindSlabWorkSmarterTheEisenhowerMatrix:PrioritizeYourTimeonWhatMattersMostMostpeoplewastetimeontasksthatdon’tinchthemclosertotheirgoals.TheEisenhowerMatrixbreaksyoufromthatcycle.byRCVictorino—September23,2020Beingbusyisnotthesameasbeingproductive. Youcouldspendhoursputtingoutfiresandatthe endoftheday benoclosertoreachingyour long-termgoals. Thisisacostlyandemotionallydrainingwaytospendyourtime. Theissueispoor prioritization.Humansprioritizetime-sensitivetasksoveranyothertask,regardlessofthelong-termpayoffs. Whenyoufocustoomuchtimeonurgenttasks,youneglecttheimportantonesonyour to-dolist.It’seasytogetstuckinthisreactionarycyclewhereyouconstantlyputoutfires,robbingyourselfoftheopportunitytoworktowardyourgoals. Bydistinguishingbetweenurgentandimportanttasks,youcanfocusmoretimeandenergyonthethingsthatmattermost. TheEisenhowerMatrixhelpsyoumakethatdistinction andimproveyour timemanagement. WhatistheEisenhowerMatrix “Ihavetwokindsofproblems:theurgentandtheimportant.Theurgentarenotimportant,andtheimportantareneverurgent.” —DwightD.Eisenhower TheEisenhowerMatrixisasimpledecision-makingtoolthathelpsyoumakethedistinctionbetweentasksthatareimportant,notimportant,urgent,andnoturgent.Itsplitstasksintofourboxesthatprioritizewhichtasksyoushouldfocusonfirstandwhichyoushoulddelegateordelete. AlsoknownastheUrgent-ImportantMatrix,itwaspopularizedbyStephenCoveyinhisbest-sellingbook,The7HabitsofHighlyEffectivePeople.Itwasnamedafter DwightD.Eisenhower,the 34thPresidentoftheUnitedStates,knownforhishighoutputandorganization.PresidentEisenhowerissaidtohavearrangedhisobligationssothatonlytheimportantandurgentmatterscameacrosshisdesk. TheEisenhowerMatrixusesthissameprincipletosortoutthelessurgentandimportanttasksonyourlist,whichyoucanthendelegateornotdoatall. TheEisenhowerMatrixcanhelpifyou: Runaroundputtingoutfiresallday,ratherthanfocusingontasksyouwanttocomplete Arebusybutfeellikeyourworkhaslittleimpact Aren’tmakingprogressonlong-termgoals ​Sufferfrom procrastination Struggletosay“no”whenaskedtodosomething Haveahardtimedelegatingtasks Thedifferencebetweenurgentandimportanttasks ThecoreprinciplebehindtheEisenhowerMatrixisthedistinctionbetweenimportantandurgenttasks. Urgenttasksaretime-sensitiveanddemandyourattention.They’retasksyoufeelobligatedtoaddress.Focusingonurgenttasksputsyouinareactivemindset,whichcanmakeyoufeeldefensive,rushed,andnarrowly-focused. Importanttaskscontributetoyourlong-termmission,values,andgoals.Theymaynotyieldimmediateresults(makingthemeasytoneglect).Sometimesimportanttasksarealsourgent— butusuallynot.Focusingonimportanttasksputsyouinaresponsivemindset,whichcanmakeyoufeelcalm,rational,andopentonewideas. Note:Ifyouputoffimportanttaskslongenough,theycanbecomeurgent. Peopletendtobelievethatallurgenttasksarealsoimportant— whenfrequently,theyarenot.Thismisrepresentationmayhavetodowithourpreferenceforfocusingonshort-termproblemsandsolutions. Buthappinessandfulfillmentcomewhenwefocusonthelong-term. ThequadrantsoftheEisenhowerMatrix TheEisenhowerMatrixisdividedintofourparts: Quadrant1:Importantandurgent/Do Quadrant2:Importantbutnoturgent/Schedule Quadrant3:Urgentbutnotimportant/Delegate Quadrant4:Notimportant,noturgent/Delete 1.Urgentandimportanttasks Urgentandimportanttasksarecriseswithduedates— suchasacriticalbugfixforyourSaaStool. Dothesetasksfirst.Theyrequireyour immediateattention. 2.Noturgentbutimportanttasks Noturgentbutimportanttaskshelpyouachieveyourgoal— anddon’thaveapressingdeadline. Schedulethesetaskstodolater. Productiveandsuccessfulpeoplespendmostoftheirtimehere— thisquadrantyieldsthemostsatisfaction.CoveycalledittheQuadrantofQuality. Mostpeople,however,don’tspendenoughtimehere,becausetheydon’tknowwhat’simportanttothemorbecausethey’refixatedonthemostpressingtasksathand. 3.Urgentandnotimportanttasks Tasksthatfallinthisquadrantarenearlyalwaysinterruptionsfromyourpreferredcourse.Thesearetaskswhereyouhelpothersmeettheirgoals. Delegatethesetaskstoothers. Mostpeoplespendthemajorityoftheirtimeinthisquadrant.Theybelievethey’reworkingonurgenttasksthatareimportanttothemwheninreality,completingthesetasksdoesnothingtoinchthemclosertotheirlong-termgoals. 4.Noturgentandnotimportanttasks Thesetasksaren’tpressing,nordotheyhelpyoureachyourlong-termgoals.They’resimplydistractionsfromwhatmattersmost. Deletethesetasksfromyourschedule. Prioritizingyourtasks First,evaluatewhereonthematrixyouspendyourtime.Trackyourtimeforoneweek.Youcanuseadedicatedtaskmanagementtoolorsimplytrackyourtimein30-minuteincrementsinaspreadsheet. Afteroneweek,organizeyourcompletedtasksintotheappropriatequadrantusingthefollowingquestionsasyourcriteria: Wasthisurgentforme? Wasthisimportanttome? “Me”istheintegralwordhere—you’reorganizingthesetasksbasedonyourgoals,notsomeoneelse’s. Nowthatyourtasksaresorted,takenoteofthequadrantwiththemosttasks.IfmostofyourtasksliveinsideQuadrant2,congratulations!Youhaveagraspoverwhatmattersmostinyourlife. However,ifyou’reameremortal,here’showyoucanrebalanceyourmatrix. Quadrant1 ToreducethenumberofQuadrant1tasksyouhave,investtimeinplanningtoanticipateandpreventproblems. Whatchangescanyoumaketoavoidunexpectedproblemsfromarising?Thismayincludecollaboratingwithcolleagues,clients,orsupervisorstorestructureyourworkflow. IfonepersonorentityisthesourceofQuadrant1tasks,youmayneedtofindawaytoremoveyourselffromworkingwiththisperson. Quadrant3 ToreduceQuadrant3tasks,createastrategytodelegate,eliminate,orlimittheamountoftimeyouspendonthesetasks. Forexample,batchthesetaskstogethertocompleteinonesitting,orsharewithyoursupervisorhowmuchtimeyouspendonbusywork.Ifyou’reamanager,letyourteamknowyou’llbedelegatingtaskstothemsoyoucanreprioritizeyourschedule. Quadrant4 IfmostofyourtimeisspentinQuadrant4,youlikelyfeelstressedandunfulfilled.Continuetotrackyourtimetoidentifywhichtasksconsumethemosttime.Thendevelopaplantodeleteorlimitthem.Seekadvicefromacolleagueorsupervisor—theirobjectiveperspectivemightmakeiteasiertoidentifywhichtasksyoucandelegateordelete. Investingtimeinmakingtime Repeattheaboveprocesseveryweekforamonth.Compareeachweek’sresultstoseeifyoureffortsresultinmoretimespentintheQuadrantofQuality. EvenasyourprioritiesshifttowardQuadrant2,continueusingtheEisenhowerMatrixtoorganizeyourday. Quadrant2willoftenincludeabstracttaskslikestrategydevelopmentandrelationshipbuilding.Thesetasksdon’thavedeadlines,makingthemeasytoputaside.Butthesetasksaredirectlyalignedwithyourlong-termgoals,values,andhappiness. “Thekeyisnottoprioritizewhat’son yourschedule, buttoscheduleyourpriorities.”— StephenCovey Mostpeoplestruggletofindtimeintheirbusyschedulestotacklethoseimportantbutnoturgenttasks.IntegratingtheEisenhowerMatrixintoyourdailyworkflowwillhelpyouscheduleyourprioritiesbasedonwhat’smostimportanttoyou.Startbuildingaknowledge-sharingculturetoday.GetstartedContinueReadingOtherWorkSmarterarticlesWorkSmarterFromProceduraltoNewKnowledge:LeveragingYourTeam’sKnow-HowYouremployeesdevelopnewandvaluableknowledgeaftermasteringaskill.Here’showtohelpthemsharethatknowledgewithothers.WorkSmarterChoosingandbuildingan internalwiki foryourcompanyHowtochoose,organize,andlaunchyourcompany'sinternalwiki.Acompleteguidetosettingyourteamupforsuccess.GettingRidof(andPreventing)InformationSilosintheWorkplaceWorkSmarterTearingdowninformationsilosisanimportantsteptoensureyouremaincompetitiveandagileinthelongterm.Enjoyingthepost?Getnotifiedwhenwepublishanewarticle.SubscribeSubscribeGetnotifiedwhenwepublishanewarticleSubscribeCareersPressKitSecurityPricingDesktopAppChromeExtensionBlogUseCasesCustomerStoriesUniversityHelpCenterContactSupportSlackGitHubGoogleDriveAsanaOktaMoreCulture&ValuesOnboardingCodeReviewsPostmortemsTeamMeetingsMoreConfluenceAlternativeGoogleDocsAlternativeNotionAlternative©2022SlabInc.TermsPrivacy