How the Eisenhower Matrix Can Save Your Day (and Your Life)

How many times have you ever worried about an upcoming exam only to remember a research paper
due the next day?

You may only have two days to prepare for the paper and the exam and there are also other important
things on your To-Do List. Because of all these, you feel stressed, anxious and you don’t know which one
to do first.

Time pressure can be difficult and can affect a student or a professional’s performance and this can be
the result of too many things to do in so little time. Luckily, there are things you can do to beat time
pressure and be able to deliver things needed for you to do great in your studies.

One of the most difficult things to do is setting priorities and determining which activities are important
and which of them can wait. The Eisenhower Matrix can help you sort your To-Do List so that you will be
able to finish first the things that need most attention and which ones should not be wasted time upon.

Dwight Eisenhower and the Eisenhower Matrix

Dwight Eisenhower was the 34th United States President, of which he served two terms. He was also a
five star general in the US Army before he became president. You should have guessed that he led a very
productive life in his time as a general and as president. Despite the busy schedule of his demanding
positions, he still had time to pursue recreational activities such as oil painting and golfing.

Eisenhower was unbelievable when it came to sustaining productivity not only for a day, weeks or
months but for decades. Because of this, it is not surprising to know that his methods of productivity,
time management and task organization are admired by plenty of people.

He is most famous for a strategy known as the Eisenhower Matrix – a simple decision-making
instrument that you can use.

“What is Urgent is Unlikely Important and What is Important is Unlikely Urgent”

Although we know the difference between “urgent” and “important”, deciding on our tasks can be
difficult because most of us are lured into thinking that urgent things are important or that important
things are urgent. That’s why we often find ourselves doing a lot of things at the same time and not
accomplishing anything.

An urgent task means that it needs immediate attention. These are activities that CANNOT be delayed.
They have to be done NOW! Urgent tasks such as answering phone calls, doing papers that are due
tomorrow or fighting a fire are those that place us in a reactive mode where we are usually hurried and
are narrowly-focused.

On the other hand, important tasks are those that bring us towards our long-term goals, values and
missions. There are also times when important tasks are urgent but usually they can wait for later.
When focusing on important tasks, we usually do better in a calmer mode, when we are more
responsive and rational, which brings us closer to more opportunities.

Modern technology such as the internet, PDAs and smartphones have all contributed to our confusion
as well. We seem to think that posting status updates or tweeting is as important as studying for an
exam. We are living in a condition where we are always “on” and as a result lose our sense of long-term
goals and mission. We also forget how to distinguish between what is important and what is simply
urgent.

The inability to set our priorities can cost us a lot of things including stagnation and stress. Along it, we
find it difficult to solve the truly important problems and we end up feeling defeated and lost because
we failed to do the things that mattered more.

Using Eisenhower’s Matrix

In using the Eisenhower Matrix, first list all the projects, deadlines, or assignments you have to
accomplish. Include things that take up your time even if you feel they are unimportant.

Then, classify each activity according to the following categories:

Q1
Urgent and Important
- finish term paper due tomorrow
- submit assignments
Q2
Not Urgent but Important
- Exercise
- spend time with family or friends
-recreational activities

Eisenhower's
Matrix
Q4
Q3 Not Urgent and Not Important
Urgent but Not Important - watching TV
- calls, interruptions, meetings - checking Facebook, Twitter and
other social media

Figure 1 – The Eisenhower Matrix or the Urgent/Important Principle

From there, you can now decide how to schedule your activities.

Q1 Urgent and Important

There are two kinds of urgent and important activities. First are those that you have not expected and
the other one are activities that you have done until the last hour. You will be able to get rid of last-
minute deadlines and submissions by avoiding procrastination and planning ahead of time.
But it is impossible to predict or avoid some problems, crises or issues. Thus, the best thing you can do is
to take some time of the day to handle unexpected problems and unplanned important activities. In
case a major problem comes up, you really have to reschedule other activities.

If you observe that you have plenty of important and urgent activities, take a look at the activities that
you could have done some planning and schedule similar tasks in order to eliminate urgent tasks. For
instance, if you have several deadlines to beat, set some time of the day to do similar activities so that
you can submit your requirements on time and they don’t become last-minute tasks.

Q2 Not Urgent but Important

These activities help you complete important work and let you achieve your academic and personal
goals.

Ensure that you have ample time to perform these things correctly to avoid making these activities
urgent. For example, studying for an exam should not be done the day before the exam or else the
activity becomes urgent. To avoid this, set a certain part of your day to review and study on your
courses.

You should also set sufficient time of your day to handle unexpected problems. This will ensure that you
will stay on track and prevent time stress, which makes some activities become more hurried than
needed.

Q3 Urgent but Not Important

These activities can prevent you from achieving your personal and academic goals. Determine if your
can reschedule or have someone else do it for you.

These activities usually emanate from other people such as attending to unimportant phone calls or
talking to your friend about his project or assignment. For these, the best you can do is to give your
friend the confidence to solve the problem on his own.

On the other hand, you can also schedule time when you can so that your friend or family can talk to
you. Schedule a time to see your best friend, family, or other people who interrupt you frequently like
your science group mate so that you can handle problems at once. Through this, you can focus more on
your important activities.

Q4 Not Urgent and Not Important

These activities must be avoided since they are simply distractions.

You can cancel or just ignore most of these activities. But there could be some activities that your friend
or other people would like you to do although they just won’t do anything to let you achieve your goals.
Simply say “no” and politely explain why you cannot do it. If other people can see that you are
consistent and clear with your boundaries and goals, they will then stop bothering you to do
unimportant things in the future.