The Eisenhower Matrix method for focus and prioritization

The Eisenhower Matrix is a task management tool that helps you organize and prioritize tasks by urgency and importance.

In a 1954 speech, Eisenhower quoted an unnamed university president when he said,

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

Dwight D. Eisenhower — five-star general during World War II and 34th president of the United States — was a productive guy.

During his two terms as president of the United States, he led the construction of the Interstate Highway System, created NASA, signed into law the first major piece of civil rights legislation since the end of the Civil War, ended the Korean War, welcomed Alaska and Hawaii into the union, and managed to keep the Cold War with Russia cold.

Stephen Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, took Eisenhower’s words and used them to develop the now-popular task management tool known as the Eisenhower Matrix.

The Eisenhower Matrix is a way to organize tasks by urgency and importance, so you can effectively prioritize your most important work. The matrix has four quadrants:

1. Urgent and important: Tasks that are both urgent and important should be done first. These are tasks that require immediate attention and have serious consequences if not completed in a timely manner.
2. Important but not urgent: Tasks that are important but not urgent should be scheduled for later. These tasks are important to your long-term goals but do not require immediate attention.
3. Urgent but not important: Tasks that are urgent but not important should be delegated to someone else. These tasks are not important to your long-term goals but require immediate attention.
4. Not urgent and not important: Tasks that are not urgent and not important should be deleted. These tasks do not contribute to your long-term goals and are a waste of time.

“Who can define for us with accuracy the difference between the long and short term! Especially whenever our affairs seem to be in crisis, we are almost compelled to give our first attention to the urgent present rather than to the important future.” — Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1961 address to the Century Association

Here are some tips for prioritizing your tasks using the Eisenhower Matrix:

1. Distinguish between urgent and important tasks: Urgent tasks require your immediate attention, while important tasks are critical to your long-term goals.
2. Divide your tasks into four categories: Use the four quadrants of the Eisenhower Matrix to organize your tasks.
3. Do the tasks that are both urgent and important first: These tasks require immediate attention and have serious consequences if not completed in a timely manner.
4. Schedule tasks that are important but not urgent: These tasks are important to your long-term goals but do not require immediate attention.
5. Delegate tasks that are urgent but not important: These tasks are not important to your long-term goals but require immediate attention.
6. Delete tasks that are not urgent and not important: These tasks do not contribute to your long-term goals and are a waste of time.

I use the Eisenhower Matrix daily to prioritize my focus. It’s simple and effective. Give it a go if you never have. I suggest using it with a task management system that supports columns so you can split things into 4 columns. Hope this helps!