What is….The Eisenhower Matrix?
I am often asked about a reference I make to a tool or resource that I mention in my discussions or my articles. They are items that do not require a full article, but maybe a quick explanation of what it means. I wanted to capture some of those as they come up and share back a little more detail about those items, as well as provide additional links to resources that can help you explore further if you choose.
I referred to the Eisenhower Matrix a couple of weeks ago in an article about prioritization (and I have many times in the past as well) and was asked what that was. Here is a quick look at the Eisenhower Matrix and the value it adds.
Some people also refer to these as a 4-block(er) or decision quadrant. The simple premise is to create a vertical and a horizontal axis. Create 2 levels along each. This will result in the 4-boxes that is immediately recognizable. Along your horizontal axis, assign high and low for IMPORTANCE. Along your vertical axis also assign high and low for URGENCY. You are assigning urgency and importance to any of your ‘to-dos’. This is how you can begin to prioritize your time and energy.
When completed in the way shown by the images, you have a quadrant in the upper right for high-high items and in the lower left, you have a quadrant for low-low items. The other two boxes are your high-low and low-high areas.
Once you have your tasks assigned to quadrants, you can now determine the course you take with those. If it isn’t urgent or important, those should go away. By the definition we assigned here, it isn’t something that needs to be done, it's not important, and it is not urgent we get it done. Conversely, those items that have high importance and high urgency rise to the top of our list, so we can get them done now.
That is the quick look at the Eisenhower Matrix.
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