The Eisenhower Matrix

I thoroughly enjoyed the Todoist article here that my post is based on, so definitely check it out for a more in-depth review of the concept.

But here’s the quick and dirty of it.

Humans suck at prioritizing.

We fall for the urgent things and prioritize them even if they aren’t necessarily important or the most rewarding tasks.

If we take a split second to reconsider, we can better evaluate and prioritize the important tasks with bigger reward.

But it’s sorta a knee-jerk reaction.

Here’s what to do.

1. When you are generating a list of to-do’s, categorize them as important or not important and urgent or not urgent.

2. Organize your to-do list accordingly into 4 categories.

   1. Urgent and Important

   2. Not Urgent and Important

   3. Urgent and Not Important

   4. Not Urgent and Not Important.

Now there’s a few things you can determine from this list about what matters and what you should prioritize.

Next, it can also let you audit your priorities and what maybe you can try to do more of.

Q1 - Urgent and Important

For example, if everything you do is urgent and important, it can lead to increased stress, burn out, and the sense that your days are out of your control. Spending all day putting out fires will quickly rob you of energy and passion for your work. You may even find yourself seeking mindless escapism in the not urgent and not important quadrant.

Indulging in a little escapism is fine to recharge and relaxation but if the majority of your to-do list is in this quadrant, then maybe you need to rethink it.

Q2 - Not Urgent and Important

Spending a majority of your time in the Not Urgent and Important section is the sweet spot. Live here. It’s an opportunity for growth, development and pursuit of your goals without the time crunch that putting out fires brings.

Q3 - Urgent and Not Important

The Urgent and Not Important section is all the urgent issues that don’t need your time but often demand it. If there’s a way to delegate these to someone else, offload them.

Q4 - Not Urgent and Not Important

Finally, the not urgent and not important tasks. It is the quadrant of potential excess and immediate gratification that ultimately leaves you feeling unfulfilled. It’s still a quadrant and still has a role in your life but it is important to be intentional with your time and activities there.

Here’s a cheatsheet to quickly assess.