Madina S.
“What is important is seldom urgent, and what is urgent is seldom important.”
Dwight David Eisenhower
The Esenhauser Matrix or Time Management Matrix is a reasonably popular task prioritization technique widely used as one of the best time and task management techniques. No article can do without recommending task planning using an online task planner and the Esenhauser Matrix technique. So, why is this technique so popular, and where does it come from? This article will answer these questions, explaining the Eisenhower decision matrix and how to operate this system!
Origins of the Esenhauser matrix
Dwight David Eisenhower (1890–1969) was the 34th president of the United States. Before becoming president, he was a prominent general in the US Army. Eisenhower played a crucial role in World War II, and his experiences during the war significantly influenced his time management strategies. Yes, the Eisenhower Matrix – also referred to as the Priority Matrix or the Time Management Matrix – is linked to Dwight D. Eisenhower. This commonly used tool helps people prioritize their work and increase productivity.
Eisenhower frequently cited the following tenet, which forms the basis of the matrix: “What is important is seldom urgent, and what is urgent is seldom important.” He made choices and managed his time using this method as President and during his military service. The matrix’s roots are in writings on productivity and time management, and books on the subject have contributed to its popularity. Stephen Covey was a significant force behind the method’s popularization; he went into great length about it in his book “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.” Covey created the idea as a tool to enhance decision-making and productivity.
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What is the Esenhauser Matrix for the practical use?
“Plans are nothing. Planning is everything.” – Dwight David Eisenhower
Now that the history has been covered, we can use the time management Matrix. How does it operate? The matrix divides tasks into four categories in the Eisenhower Matrix:
- Urgent and important tasks require immediate completion due to their critical nature and impending deadlines.
- Not urgent but essential – important tasks to plan and complete promptly.
- Urgent but not necessary – tasks that can be delegated or automated.
- Neither urgent nor important – tasks that can be ignored or minimized.
While Eisenhower did not develop this particular matrix himself, his approaches to time and priority management inspired the creation of this method, which has become a popular productivity technique and task management tool.
The “Do It” quadrant
The first quadrant is called “Do” because its tasks are critical and must be completed, ideally today and not later than tomorrow. They have to be carried out to prevent bad outcomes. Here, “task urgency” is essential since it emphasizes taking quick action to avoid unfavorable consequences. The “Do” quadrant includes deadlines, emergencies, and pressing issues.
These jobs often take up the most time and energy during the day. You know, the ones you’d instead not start because of the effort they’ll need of you.
If you want to develop the highly productive habit of planning well, set aside a particular spot in your planner where you may record your daily “Do” chores. You may set aside time daily and monthly to list these important and urgent activities and break them down into manageable steps.
The “Schedule It” quadrant
“Schedule” refers to the Eisenhower Matrix’s second quadrant. Though less urgent, these duties are nevertheless crucial. By prioritizing things that require time to perform, efficient time managers aim to minimize stress by establishing reasonable deadlines. Whenever a new job is received, it is planned in this quadrant and soon after scheduled for an acceptable time.
Recall that you cannot eschew setting reasonable timelines because these activities are not urgent. Make sure to estimate fair timeframes for completing them. These tasks should be organized into your daily/weekly to-do lists.
The “Delegate It” quadrant
In the third quadrant, “Delegate,” there are pressing duties that are less important to you. It’s crucial to assign work wisely since there are things that someone else might do better. Here’s when cooperation becomes essential. We recommend using online collaboration tools to see if someone has a lighter workload and has time to delegate tasks to them immediately.
You might be able to concentrate more on the tasks in the “Do” and “Decide” quadrants if you give these tasks to others. Nonetheless, monitoring assigned duties via phone calls, emails, or meetings is crucial. Since no one is held accountable, delegating tasks with a monitoring option is more successful than not completing them. Various task trackers and time management tools can help you track the progress of these tasks.
The “Delete It” quadrant
The matrix’s final quadrant is referred to as “Delete.” It focuses on things you should eliminate from your daily routine. These time-wasting activities, such as aimless internet browsing and time spent on meaningless emails, don’t boost productivity.
Put your “Delete” tasks in your calendar’s designated “Not-To-Do” section to help you manage distractions. Set up particular times during the day to answer calls and check emails, and don’t do these tasks beyond those times.
A simple guide to Eisenhower matrix
The mere urgency effect is a psychological phenomenon in which individuals prioritize tasks based on urgency rather than importance. Research shows that people often choose time-sensitive tasks over more meaningful ones, especially when pressured by deadlines. Frameworks like the Eisenhower Matrix can help counteract this bias by emphasizing the importance of long-term outcomes over immediate urgencies.
To understand and implement an “urgent, important matrix,” you should follow the steps:
1. Implement the Eisenhower matrix in Bordio
To begin with, you can analyze tasks and previous experience with other techniques and collect the necessary information to start working. It is convenient to start with a project management tool like Bordio! To implement the Eisenhower Matrix in Bordio, start by setting up your task planning system. How?
In Bordio, you have two options for the organization: Kanban Board and Table View. Table View is simply a list of tasks grouped by Type, Status, Due Date, and Responsibles. For us, the critical tool is the tasks Type. You can tweak and rename the types to fit your needs, following the quadrant method, changing their names to “Do It,” “Schedule It,” “Delegate It,” and “Delete It.” Selecting colors for each type in the planner will help distinguish more urgent tasks from those that can be postponed. Plus, with Bordio’s drag-and-drop feature, you can quickly move tasks from one type to another or change their type manually. Then, you can set task statuses and deadlines and assign someone to handle the task.
This way, you can focus on the critical tasks in the “Do It” section that need your attention right now. For the other tasks, you can either push them to a later date (like scheduling them for next week), delegate them to someone else, or delete them so they don’t clutter up your list.
2. Color-code your tasks
As we said before, color-coding helps you quickly see task priorities. For example, this is how you can pick colors in Bordio:
- Green tasks go in the “Do” quadrant = Highest priority
- Yellow tasks go in the “Schedule” quadrant = Second-highest priority
- Blue tasks go in the “Delegate” quadrant = Third-highest priority
- Red tasks go in the “Delete” quadrant = Low priority
3. Limit tasks to 10 per quadrant
Task prioritization might be challenging to practice if you haven’t found a suitable method. Limiting the number of tasks in each square of the Eisenhower Matrix to ten helps prevent overload and makes the prioritization process more effective. Limiting each square to ten tasks makes focusing on the most critical tasks easier and prevents distraction from less important tasks.
If one of the squares has too many tasks, it is worth reviewing them and identifying only the most important ones. If necessary, the rest can be deleted, delegated, or distributed to other matrices. Update the matrix regularly to keep it relevant and effective and to keep your priorities in order.
In this way, limiting the number of tasks helps to maintain clarity and work organization, allowing you to focus on what is essential.
4. Make personal and professional to-do lists
Creating distinct to-do lists for personal and business obligations can help you better organize and manage your work. Keeping track of chores when divided into two lists is simpler since personal and professional activities sometimes have separate due dates and specifications.
Projects, one-on-one meetings, and job assignments that require a particular strategy and level of focus are examples of professional tasks. Personal tasks can include shopping, household chores, or meetings with friends that require different planning. By separating tasks into categories, you simplify the process of completing them and avoid confusion.
Use two lists or different Eisenhower matrices for work and personal tasks. This will help you understand which tasks require immediate attention in different areas of your life and allow you to allocate your time and resources more effectively.
5. Eliminate time wasting activities, then prioritize
To simplify your planning process, start by eliminating unnecessary tasks. Focus initially on the “Delete” quadrant of the Eisenhower Matrix. Tasks that are not urgent or significant can be removed from this list without affecting the quality of your work.
Numerous responsibilities, including asking for comments, updating statuses, or doing quick follow-ups, can be dropped without consequence. Eliminating them will provide room for essential responsibilities. After that, prioritize the remaining jobs by deciding which ones should be completed first and which may wait or be sent to someone else. This method simplifies planning by making it more structured and focused on the tasks that matter.
Eisenhower matrix examples
Quadrant 1 (Urgent & Important)
This quadrant’s tasks are mission-critical and demand quick attention. These assignments typically have tight deadlines, and failing to do them on time might have dire repercussions.
- Write a blog post due tomorrow.
This task must be completed urgently because its deadline is the next day. It is essential to focus on completing it to avoid missing the deadline.
- Finish a project proposal.
A project proposal often has a specific deadline and is critical to its success, so completing it on time is also a priority.
- Respond to client emails.
Replying to clients’ emails is critical, mainly when they include demands or inquiries that require an immediate answer.
Quadrant 2 (Not Urgent & Important)
Tasks in this quadrant are essential but not urgent. They contribute to long-term development and improvement, so it is essential to make time for them despite their lack of urgency.
- Sign up for a professional development course.
Learning and developing professional skills is not always urgent but essential for career growth and improving skills.
- Attend a networking event.
You should actively participate in professional networking events to grow your network of connections and possibly open up new prospects.
- Add improvements to a personal project.
Improving a personal project may not have an urgent deadline, but it is essential for achieving personal goals and job satisfaction.
Quadrant 3 (Urgent & Not Important)
These tasks require immediate action, but their importance is not high. They are often a distraction from more important tasks and can be completed more quickly or delegated.
- Upload blog posts.
This task must be completed quickly, but it is not critical to achieving the primary goals if the content is already prepared.
- Transcribe meeting notes.
Transcribing meeting notes is essential for documentation, but it is a routine task that can be delegated or done without much preparation.
- Handle non-client emails.
Handling non-client emails requires attention but does not significantly impact the primary goals.
Quadrant 4 (Not Urgent & Not Important)
Tasks in this quadrant are not urgent or essential. They often involve routine activities or non-essential tasks and can be minimized or eliminated.
- Work about work.
Engaging in activities related to the work process but have no real value, such as endless planning or preparation.
- Attend a status meeting.
Gatherings to discuss status may be less productive and do not contribute to real progress, especially if they are often repeated.
- Share status approvals.
A process for approving statuses, which may be routine and not always necessary for the actual completion of tasks.
Final Thoughts on Eisenhower matrix
To sum up, the Eisenhower Matrix is an effective tool for managing your time and tasks that may assist you in setting priorities and streamlining your workflow. The core notion behind this approach is sorting your duties into four categories – urgent and important, urgent but not required, urgent but not urgent, and neither urgent nor essential. Thanks to this method, you may spend less time on unimportant chores and more time concentrating on what matters.
You may arrange your duties and approach work and life strategically with the aid of the matrix. Awareness of what is essential and urgent can help you stay focused and productive by preventing stress and overload. Your duties will be easier to handle, and you can decide what to perform first with more knowledge if you divide them into quadrants.
To optimize outcomes, the matrix must undergo periodic evaluation and updating to accommodate evolving circumstances and objectives. Incorporating the Eisenhower Matrix into your time management strategy may boost output and enhance your work-life equilibrium.
Ksenia M. 
