The Eisenhower Matrix: How to prioritize your to-do list

The Eisenhower Matrix is a task management tool that helps you organize and prioritize tasks by urgency and importance. Resources|Leadership|TheEisenhowerMatrix:Howtoprioritiz...TheEisenhowerMatrix:Howtoprioritizeyourto-dolistTeamAsanaOctober22nd,2021•5minreadfacebooktwitterlinkedinJumptosectionWhatistheEisenhowerMatrix?HowtodistinguishbetweenurgentandimportanttasksThefourquadrantsoftheEisenhowerMatrix4tipsforprioritizingyourtasksEisenhowerMatrixexampleBuildyourEisenhowerMatrixwithtaskmanagementtoolsTryAsananowSummaryTheEisenhowerMatrixisataskmanagementtoolthathelpsyouorganizeandprioritizetasksbyurgencyandimportance.Usingthetool,you’lldivideyourtasksintofourboxesbasedonthetasksyou’lldofirst,thetasksyou’llscheduleforlater,thetasksyou’lldelegate,andthetasksyou’lldelete.Inthispiece,we’llexplainhowtosetupanEisenhowerMatrixandprovidetipsfortaskprioritization.Makingato-dolististhefirststeptowardgettingworkdone.Buthowdoyoudeterminewhattotacklefirstwhenyoudon’thaveenoughtimetodoeverythinginoneday?Witheffectiveprioritization,youcanincreaseyourproductivityandensurethatyourmosturgenttasksgetimmediateattention.TheEisenhowerMatrixisataskmanagementtoolthathelpsyoudistinguishbetweenurgentandimportanttaskssoyoucanestablishanefficientworkflow.Inthisarticle,we’llexplainhowtosetupanEisenhowerMatrixandprovidetipsfortaskprioritization.WhatistheEisenhowerMatrix?TheEisenhowerMatrixisawaytoorganizetasksbyurgencyandimportance,soyoucaneffectivelyprioritizeyourmostimportantwork. DwightD.Eisenhower—the34thPresidentoftheUnitedStatesandafive-stargeneralduringWorldWarII—presentedtheideathatwouldlaterleadtotheEisenhowerMatrix.Ina1954speech,Eisenhowerquotedanunnameduniversitypresidentwhenhesaid,“Ihavetwokindsofproblems,theurgentandtheimportant.Theurgentarenotimportant,andtheimportantareneverurgent.” StephenCovey,authorofThe7HabitsofHighlyEffectivePeople,tookEisenhower’swordsandusedthemtodevelopthenow-populartaskmanagementtoolknownastheEisenhowerMatrix. TheEisenhowerMatrixisalsoknownasthetimemanagementmatrix,theEisenhowerBox,andtheurgent-importantmatrix.Thistoolhelpsyoudivideyourtasksintofourcategories:thetasksyou’lldofirst,thetasksyou’llscheduleforlater,thetasksyou’lldelegate,andthetasksyou’lldelete.CreateanEisenhowermatrixtemplateHowtodistinguishbetweenurgentandimportanttasksUrgentandimportantmayseemlikesimilarwords,butwhenanalyzingthemintermsoftheEisenhowerprinciple,thedifferencebetweenthetwoiscrucial.DifferentiatingbetweenurgentandimportantwithintheEisenhowerMatrixcanhelpyouidentifywhichtasksyoushouldjumponandwhichtasksmightbebetterhandledbyotherteammembers. Urgenttasksrequireyourimmediateattention.Whensomethingisurgent,itmustbedonenow,andthereareclearconsequencesifyoudon’tcompletethesetaskswithinacertaintimeline.Thesearetasksyoucan’tavoid,andthelongeryoudelaythesetasks,themorestressyou’lllikelyexperience,whichcanleadtoburnout.Examplesofurgenttasksmayinclude:Finishingaprojectwithalast-minuteduedateHandlinganurgentclientrequestFixingabustedpipeinyourapartmentImportanttasksmaynotrequireimmediateattention,butthesetaskshelpyouachieveyourlong-termgoals.Justbecausethesetasksarelessurgentdoesn’tmeantheydon’tmatter.You’llneedtothoughtfullyplanforthesetaskssoyoucanuseyourresourcesefficiently. Examplesofimportanttasksmayinclude:Planningalong-termprojectProfessionalnetworkingtobuildaclientbaseRegularchoresandmaintenanceprojectsOnceyouknowhowtodistinguishbetweenurgentandimportanttasks,youcanbeginseparatingyourtasksintothefourquadrantsoftheEisenhowerMatrix. Read:Prioritymatrix:HowtoidentifywhatmattersandgetmoredoneThefourquadrantsoftheEisenhowerMatrixAlongto-dolistoftaskscanfeeloverwhelming,butthegoaloftheEisenhowerMatrixistogothroughthesetasksonebyoneandseparatethembyquadrant.Onceyoucanseeyourtasksintheirdesignatedcategories,you’llbeabletoschedulethem andaccomplishyourmostimportantwork. Quadrant1:DoQuadrantoneisthe“do”quadrant,andthisiswhereyou’llplaceanytasksthatarebothurgentandimportant.Whenyouseeataskonyourto-dolistthatmustbedonenow,hasclearconsequences,andaffectsyourlong-termgoals,placeitinthisquadrant. Thereshouldbenoquestionaboutwhichtasksfallintothisquadrant,becausethesearethetasksthatareatthefrontofyourmindandarelikelystressingyououtthemost. Quadrant2:ScheduleQuadranttwoisthe“schedule”quadrant,andthisiswhereyou’llplaceanytasksthatarenoturgentbutarestillimportant.Becausethesetasksaffectyourlong-termgoalsbutdon’tneedtobedonerightaway,youcanschedulethesetasksforlater. You’lltacklethesetasksrightafteryoutacklethetasksinquadrantone.Youcanusevarioustimemanagementtipstohelpyouaccomplishthetasksinthisquadrant.SomehelpfulstrategiesmayincludetheParetoprincipleorthePomodoromethod. Quadrant3:DelegateQuadrantthreeisthe“delegate”quadrant,andthisiswhereyou’llplaceanytasksthatareurgentbutnotimportant.Thesetasksmustbecompletednow,buttheydon’taffectyourlong-termgoals. Becauseyoudon’thaveapersonalattachmenttothesetasksandtheylikelydon’trequireyourspecificskillsettocomplete,youcandelegatethesetaskstoothermembersofyourteam.Delegatingtasksisoneofthemostefficientwaystomanageyourworkloadandgiveyourteamtheopportunitytoexpandtheirskillset.Quadrant4:DeleteOnceyou’vegonethroughyourto-dolistandaddedtaskstothefirstthreequadrants,you’llnoticethatahandfuloftasksareleftover.Thetasksleftoveraretasksthatweren’turgentorimportant. Theseunimportant,non-urgentdistractionsaresimplygettinginthewayofyouaccomplishingyourgoals.Placetheseremainingitemsonyourto-dolistinthefourthquadrant,whichisthe“delete”quadrant. Read:Howworkaboutworkgetsinthewayofrealwork4tipsforprioritizingyourtasksThebestwaytounderstandthedifferencebetweenurgencyandimportanceistousetheEisenhowerMatrix,butyoumaystillfindyourselfstrugglingtoprioritizeyourtasks.Herearesometipsthatcanhelpyouwithprioritizationasyousortyourtasksineachquadrant.  1.Color-codeyourtasksColor-codingyourtasksisatacticthatcanhelpyouvisualizehigh-priorityitems.Asyougothroughyourto-dolisttool,trygivingyourselffourcolorsbasedonlevelofpriority.Usethecodeasfollows:Green=HighestpriorityitemsYellow=Second-highestpriorityBlue=Third-highestpriorityRed=NotapriorityOnceyou’velabeledyourtasksbycolor,thesecolorswilldirectlytranslatetoyourEisenhowerMatrix.Yourgreentasksareyour“do”tasksforquadrantone.Youryellowtasksareyour“schedule”tasksforquadranttwo.Yourbluetasksareyour“delegate”tasksforquadrantthree,andyourredtasksareyour“delete”tasksforquadrantfour.2.Limittasksto10perquadrantEvenifyouhavealotoftasksonyourto-dolist,trytolimityourtasksto10itemsperquadrant.ThiswillkeepyourEisenhowerMatrixfrombecomingclutteredandoverwhelming. Youcanmakemultiplematrices,butlimitingyourtasklisttonecessaryactionitemswillensureyou’rebeginningtheprioritizationprocesswithnotimetowaste.TiredofnotGettingThingsDone?MastertheGTDmethodin5steps3.Makepersonalandprofessionalto-dolistsAnotherwaytolimitthenumberofitemsonyourEisenhowerMatrixistocreateseparatematricesforyourpersonalandprofessionalto-dolists. Yourworkandpersonaltasksrequiredifferenttimelines,resources,andmethods,andthey’lllikelyrequiredifferentthoughtprocessesaswell.Inordertoeffectivelymanageyourpersonalandprofessionalgoals,you’llneedtodivideandconquer. 4.Eliminate,thenprioritizeEliminateunnecessarytasksfirsttoeffectivelyprioritize.Withthisstrategy,you’lladdressquadrantfourbeforemovingontoquadrantsone,two,andthree. Asyouskimthroughyourto-dolist,assesswhatitemsyou’vewrittendownthatdon’tneedtobethere. Infact,60%ofourtimeatworkisspentonworkaboutwork—thingslikesharingstatusapprovalsorfollowinguponinformation.Ifyoucanquicklyscratchoffitems,goaheadanddoso.Thiswillspeeduptheprioritizationprocess,andyou’lllikelygothroughasecondroundofeliminationonthebackend.EisenhowerMatrixexampleTogetabetterunderstandingofwhattasksyoumayplaceineachquadrantofyourEisenhowerMatrix,we’vegoneaheadandprovidedsomeexamplesforyouhere.Examplesoftasksyoumayincludeinquadrant1:WriteablogpostduetomorrowFinishaprojectproposalRespondtoclientemailsExamplesoftasksyoumayincludeinquadrant2:SignupforaprofessionaldevelopmentcourseAttendanetworkingeventAddimprovementstoapersonalprojectExamplesoftasksyoumayincludeinquadrant3:UploadblogpostsTranscribingmeetingnotesFieldingnon-clientemailsExamplesoftasksyoumayincludeinquadrant4:WorkaboutworkAttendingastatusmeetingSharingstatusapprovalsRememberthatit’sbesttohaveseparatematricesforworkandhomelifesoyoucantackleyourto-dolistsusingmethodsbestsuitedforthetimeandplace.BuildyourEisenhowerMatrixwithtaskmanagementtoolsSortingthroughyourto-dolististhehardestpartoftheEisenhowerMatrix,butwithautomation,younolongerneedtodothisstepmanually.Usetaskmanagementsoftwaretodeterminewhichofyourtasksareofhighestpriority.Withtaskmanagement,youcancategorize,color-code,anddelegatetaskstoyourteam.LettheEisenhowerMatrixincreaseyourproductivitysoyoucanachieveyourgoalsinlesstime.CreateanEisenhowermatrixtemplateRelatedresourcesArticleWhatisservantleadership?TipsleadbyservingyourteamArticleIsmicromanagementholdingyouback?Article9typesofmanagementstylesandwhentousethemArticleWhatisworkforcemanagement(WFM)andhowcanitworkforyourteam?