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
The Eisenhower Matrix is divided into four quadrants:
- Urgent and important tasks. Do. Crises with due dates. Do these tasks first. They require your immediate attention.
- Not urgent but important tasks. Schedule. Help you achieve your goal and don’t have a pressing deadline. Schedule these tasks to do later. Productive and successful people spend most of their time here. For them, this quadrant yields the most satisfaction. Covey called it the Quadrant of Quality. Most people, however, don’t spend enough time here because they don’t know what’s important to them or because they’re interrupted by urgent tasks.
- Urgent and not important tasks. Delegate. Tasks that fall in this quadrant are nearly always interruptions from your preferred course. These are tasks where you help others meet their goals. Delegate these tasks to others. Most people spend the majority of their time in this quadrant. They believe they’re working on urgent tasks that are important to them when, in reality, completing these tasks does nothing to inch them closer to their long-term goals.
- Not urgent and not important tasks. Delete. These tasks aren’t pressing, nor do they help you reach your long-term goals. They’re simply distractions from what matters most. Delete these tasks from your list.
Quadrant 1
To reduce the number of Quadrant 1 tasks you have, invest time in planning to anticipate and prevent problems.
What changes can you make to avoid unexpected problems from arising? This may include collaborating with colleagues, clients, or supervisors to restructure your workflow.
If one person or entity is the source of Quadrant 1 tasks, you may need to find a systemic solution to prevent important and urgent issues from constantly arising.
Quadrant 3
To reduce Quadrant 3 tasks, create a strategy to delegate, eliminate, or limit the amount of time you spend on these tasks.
For example, batch these tasks together to complete in one sitting, or share how much time you spend on busywork with your supervisor. If you’re a manager, let your team know you’ll be delegating tasks to them so you can reprioritize your schedule.
Quadrant 4
If most of your time is spent in Quadrant 4, you likely feel stressed and unfulfilled. Continue to track your time to identify which tasks consume the most time. Then, develop a plan to delete or limit them. Seek advice from a colleague or supervisor — their perspective might make it easier to identify which tasks you can delegate or delete.
Investing time in making time
