Prioritise
Eisenhower matrix
Also called Urgent important matrix, Time management matrix
Sort tasks by urgent and important into do now, schedule, delegate and drop, so important work stops losing to urgent work.
- Time20 to 40 minutes
- People1 to 8 people
- Steps3
What it's for
Urgent work shouts and important work waits, so a week fills with the first and the second slips. Sorting a list into four boxes shows where the time is going and gives everyone permission to schedule, hand off or drop things.
It works for one person's week or a team's backlog. Reach for it when a team feels busy but not productive.
How to run it
List the work5 min
Everything on the go or waiting, one task per note.
Sort it10 min
Place each task by how important and how urgent it really is.
Act on each box10 min
Give Schedule items a date and an owner, Delegate items a person, and say out loud what's being dropped.
Tips
- Important means it moves a goal. Urgent means someone wants it soon. They're different questions.
- A Do now box that's full every week means planning is the real problem.
Where it comes from
Named after Dwight D. Eisenhower, who said in a 1954 speech that urgent problems are rarely the important ones. Stephen Covey turned the idea into a four-box time management matrix in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (1989).
Pairs well with
Impact and effort matrix
Place each option by how much difference it would make and how hard it would be, to find the quick wins and the big bets.
MoSCoW prioritisation
Sort requirements into must have, should have, could have and won't have this time, to agree scope against a fixed deadline.
Who, what, when
Close a session by writing each action with one owner and a date, so decisions turn into work instead of good intentions.