The Eisenhower Matrix
The Eisenhower Matrix is a time management technique to help you roughly prioritize tasks into four buckets. The technique is usually represented in a 2x2 grid with each axis representing urgency and importance.
| Important | Not Important | |
|---|---|---|
| Urgent | Do immediately | Delegate |
| Not Urgent | Schedule | Delete |
While urgent tasks need to be done as soon as possible, urgent tasks are usually a sign of:
- Something outside of your control (i.e. production issue)
- Poorly managed time
The goal is to spend the most time in important, but not urgent. This is where the majority of fulfilling work should reside. The work is important, but you don’t have to rush because it’s not urgent.
Urgent tasks that are not important to you should be delegated as much as possible, preferably to someone who finds the work important.
If it’s neither important nor urgent, don’t do the work.