The Eisenhower Decision Matrix
Have you ever heard about the Eisenhower Decision Matrix?
It’s a powerful tool that helps you organize tasks based on urgency and importance so you can free up time to focus on what matters the most and get things done.
In today’s newsletter, we’ll explore this fundamental technique and discover how you can apply its mental framework to all your activities around prioritizing tasks that have a real impact.
The way I schedule my agenda has changed forever since I first discovered this method in this book by Stephan Covey.
And I hope it will help you get the most benefits in your personal and professional life as well!
The famous technique has been named after Dwight D. Eisenhower who served as the 34th US President from 1953 to 1961.
Throughout his life, he was known for his ability to always deliver and achieve his objectives with remarkable levels of productivity.
But how did he manage to do so over the many years?
By simply separating the urgent from the important.
Something most people fail to do!
Let’s see what it means first.
Definition of Urgent vs. Important
An urgent task is what needs attention right now without any further delay.
In contrast, an important task is what contributes to your core values, objectives, or principles in the long run.
Note that any given task can be both urgent AND important.
Now let’s see how the technique works in practice.
The Magic Quadrant
The Eisenhower Matrix is a square with four quadrants which gives you a clear understanding of how to make decisions consistently.
So, start by drawing a four-box square with an x-axis labeled “Urgent / Not Urgent”, and the y-axis labeled “Important / Not Important”.
You can then separate your actions based on these four scenarios:
Urgent and important (Do right now).
Important, but not urgent (Decide, schedule later).
Urgent, but not important (Delegate to someone else).
Neither urgent nor important (Delete the task).
Let’s explore each of them in detail: