Time Management Training - Brilliant Customer Service

The Eisenhower Matrix

Introducing the Eisenhower Matrix (Priority Matrix)

What is the Eisenhower Matrix?

The Eisenhower Matrix, also referred to as Urgent-Important Matrix, helps you decide on and prioritise tasks by urgency and importance, sorting out less urgent and important tasks which you should either delegate or not do at all.

Where does the name come from?

Dwight D. Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States from 1953 until 1961. Before becoming President, he served as a general in the United States Army and as the Allied Forces Supreme Commander during World War II. He also later became NATO’s first supreme commander.

Dwight had to make tough decisions continuously about which of the many tasks he should focus on each day. This finally led him to invent the world-famous Eisenhower principle, which today helps us prioritize by urgency and importance.

Key point

Importance is about the value of doing something or the consequence of not doing it.

Urgency is about when it is done.

Importance does not usually change, whereas timescales can be negotiated or are much more subjective.

Using the Eisenhower Matrix

Five time management tips when working with the Eisenhower Matrix

Putting things to-do on a list frees your mind. But always question what is worth doing first.
Try limiting yourself to no more than eight tasks per quadrant. Before adding another one, complete the most important one first. Remember: It is not about collecting but finishing tasks.
You should always maintain only one list for both business and private tasks. That way you will never be able to complain about not having done anything for your family or yourself at the end of the day.
Do not let you or others distract you. Do not let others define your priority. Plan in the morning, then work on your stuff. And in the end, enjoy the feeling of completion.
Finally, try not to procrastinate that much. Not even by over-managing your to-dos.

Managing priorities and meeting deadlines

The Eisenhower or Priority Matrix shows how you can divide up all your workplace tasks according to two criteria: how important they are (the vertical axis in the diagram) and how urgent they are (the horizontal axis). As a result of these two criteria, the model creates four squares which we call "quadrants" which are the keys to your time management performance.

Quadrant 4: Not Urgent and Not Important Tasks

In Quadrant 4 of the Time Management Matrix, (bottom right), are the not important and not urgent tasks. These are the things that we don't need to do but that so often we end up doing to fill in time or because we like doing them. These include aimless web browsing, socialising around the drinks machine, and attending unnecessary meetings. You can call these "time-wasters".

Quadrant 3: Urgent but Not Important Tasks

In Quadrant 3 of the Time Management Matrix, (bottom left), are the urgent but not important tasks. These are the things that we allow to interrupt our working lives because we believe they take precedence over other tasks. The worst examples of such tasks are personal "drop-in" callers, answering every phone call and wading through junk mail. You can consider these "distractions".

Quadrant 1: Urgent and Important Tasks

In Quadrant 1 of the Time Management Matrix, (top left), are the urgent and important tasks. These are the things that we have to do because they are our responsibility and need immediate attention. These are usually emergencies, crises, and pressing deadline-driven problems. They may be the result of our procrastination or inability to face up to doing them at the right time. You can think of these as "firefighting" tasks.

Quadrant 2: Not Urgent but Important Tasks

In Quadrant 2 of the Time Management Matrix, (top right), are the important but not urgent tasks. These are the tasks that aren't pressing but, if we do them, will ensure fewer, if any, problems down the line. They include time on personal health and development, unhurried "quality time" with others, prevention work, thinking time such as planning and preparation, and clarifying our values. These are you most critical and "productive" tasks.

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What Your Quadrants Tell You

When you've added up the time you spend in a typical week on each of the four quadrants, this is the action you should take to improve your time management.· if you spend any significant time on quadrant 4 tasks, (not urgent and not important), stop doing them. If you can't, take a long hard look at why you are spending time on them.· if you are spending any significant time on quadrant 3 tasks, (urgent but not important), realise that, as they are not important to you, you shouldn't be doing them whether they are urgent or not. Delegate them if you can. Dump them if you can't.· if you are spending any significant time on quadrant 1 tasks, (urgent and important), work out why you didn't do them earlier. Get to the root of what stops you doing them before they become urgent.· if you are spending any significant time on quadrant 2 tasks, (important and not urgent), congratulate yourself. This is where you should be spending most of your time. If you are, you already know that life is balanced, productive, and good.

Urgent and important - priority matrix - some key points

1. The judgment as to whether activities are urgent, important, neither or both, is crucial for good time management.

2. Most people who are not good at time management, or in managing their environment, tend to spend most of their time in boxes 1 and 3.

3. Poor time managers tend to prioritise tasks (and thereby their time), according to who shouted last and loudest (interestingly, loudness normally correlates to seniority, which discourages most people from questioning and probing the real importance and urgency of tasks received from bosses and senior managers).

4. Any spare time (or procrastination time) is typically spent in box 4, which comprises only aimless and non-productive activities. Most people spend the least time of all in box 2, which is the most critical area for success, development and proactive self-determination.

Module 1 : Managing Priorities