The Eisenhower Matrix
Introduction
Dwight D. Eisenhower was the 34th president of the United States1. He was also a military commander who served during World War II. During his time as President of the United States, he launched programmes such as DARPA and NASA. DARPA went on to become the Internet we all know. Obviously, NASA needs no mention. Eisenhower was a productive person who could sustain his productivity for weeks and months. His famous time management strategy is called “The Eisenhower Matix”.
“What is important is seldom urgent and what is urgent is seldom important.”
-Dwight Eisenhower
Eisenhower Matrix is a simple time management strategy that helps us to prioritize the tasks that come to us. In the modern world, we are bombarded every day with countless requests and tasks. It is not possible to complete all the tasks that come to you. Some tasks you have to do, some you have to decide, some you must delegate and others you must delete. The Eisenhower matrix will help decide exactly that. Let’s see how it works.
What is Eisenhower Matix?
The Eisenhower matrix consists of four quadrants. When we have a task at hand, we have to put it into one of these quadrants.
- Quadrant 1 is for urgent and important tasks. (Tasks you must do immediately)
- Quadrant 2 is for not urgent but important tasks. ( Tasks you much plan to do later)
- Quadrant 3 is for urgent but not important tasks. ( Tasks you can automate or delegate)
- Quadrant 4 is for not urgent and not important tasks. (Tasks you can eliminate)
Quadrant 1: Urgent and Important
This is the inevitable quadrant. The tasks in this quadrant are urgent and important. You must do it immediately; there is no escaping it. These can be tasks such as studying for tomorrow’s exam, finishing a project due tomorrow, fixing your car that stalled on the road etc. Some tasks like a car stalling on road are not predictable. But the other tasks mentioned in the examples are predictable tasks. The exam was scheduled weeks back. The project was assigned one month ago.
You should never cram important work like this at the last moment. Instead, you must systematically attend to your work on a daily basis. Count the number of days remaining for the exam and divide the portions accordingly and study daily. That will help you keep your head cool on the day before the exam. The same can be said about the project work or any other work of the same nature.
Quadrant 2: Not Urgent and Important
This quadrant is for tasks which are important but not urgent yet. The secret to success in life is to prevent tasks from quadrant 2 going to quadrant 1. For instance, if you are given a project work that you must finish in one month’s time, it goes to quadrant 2- since it is not an urgent task. As mentioned in the earlier example, you find out the number of days you have for completing the project and attend to portions of your project on a daily basis. A day is the most important unit of productivity. So make the best use of it. Hence you can easily complete the tasks on quadrant 2 without shifting it to quadrant 1.
Your long-term goals also go in this quadrant. Improving your career, learning a new skill, learning to play a musical instrument etc. Everything that will add value to your life goes here. So choose the tasks which will make you happy and will help you advance in your personal and professional life. Whatever you do, just don’t let the tasks skip to quadrant 1.
Quadrant 3: Urgent and Not Important
This is a very tricky quadrant. The tasks in this quadrant are urgent but they are not important to you. It might be important to someone else. So use your common sense when you are faced with such tasks. It can be a request from a coworker or a friend or a family member.
Some people have the tendency to misuse the generosity of other people. If you are getting a request from such a person, it is better to say no politely and if possible give an alternative solution.
If the person requesting your help is indeed genuine and provided you don’t have other important tasks to attend to, you may help the person out. It’s all about making the right judgement. Better judgement comes with experience.
Notifications on your mobile phone are also a quadrant 3 task. They pop out on the mobile phone as if they are the most important task but in reality, these notifications are just distractions. Please do your mind a favour and turn off all unwanted notifications.
Another way to deal with quadrant 3 tasks is to delegate them or automate them. But how successful these solutions depend on each person’s situation.
You may consider household chores as quadrant 3 tasks if you don’t see them as important. But in my opinion, these tasks are important as they directly affect your health and hygiene. However, I am placing it in quadrant 3. Household chores can be, for instance, washing clothes, cleaning dishes, cleaning the house etc. You may delegate it if you can. But let me tell you one thing-even Bill Gates washes his own dish. He is one of the richest people in the world still he washes his own dishes because he likes it.
“As well as being more fun, habitual tasks have been shown to yield the greatest number of creative insights..” writes Chris Bailey in his book Hyperfocus2. Habitual tasks like household chores can activate your ‘scatter focus mode’. Just engage in a mindless task and let your mind wander, it will come back with creative insights. No wonder the rich are washing their own dishes.
Quadrant 4: Not Urgent and Not important
These are tasks that are time killers. Examples are watching Netflix for hours, aimlessly browsing through Instagram reels etc. You can’t eliminate it completely. It is futile to assume to convert a person to a hundred percent productive person. We all need to take a break after productive work. In that sense, watching Netflix and using social media is not a crime. Nevertheless, you should keep it under control. These technologies are infamous for making us lose track of time. Keep that in mind and set time limits for usage of social media, Netflix etc.
Conclusion
The Eisenhower Matrix is indeed a powerful time management tool. But Its effective usage depends on keeping a balance in life. You must give importance to the vital tasks in life while enjoying the simple chores and relaxing with Netflix movies and popcorn. There is no need to take things to the extreme. Just keep everything in balance. Make sure you are advancing forward in your professional and personal life.
Sources
- Dwight D. Eisenhower. (2022, September 16). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwight_D._Eisenhower
- Bailey, C. (2019). 6. In Hyperfocus (pp. 134–134). essay, Editorial Reverté.