Eisenhower Matrix Description
Eisenhower-Covey Time Matrix for personal time management.
Urgent vs. Important
Urgent tasks require your immediate attention. These tasks put you in a hurried mindset & generate stress. Important tasks help you achieve long-term goals. To know what things are actually important, you first have to figure out your own goals.
Benefits
- It helps to prioritize complex or unclear issues when there are multiple criteria for determining importance.
- It provides a quick and easy, yet consistent method for evaluating options.
- It is adaptable for many priority setting needs like projects, services, personal, etc.
- Quadrant I:
Important and Urgent These are the activities that you have to do right away: crises, problems, or deadlines. These are tasks that were in Quadrant II and we kept pushing away until they became urgent. Even though tasks will always come up that are important and urgent, to reduce them, we can take more time doing the tasks from Quadrant II.
- Quadrant II:
Important and Not Urgent These are tasks that help us achieve long term goals but do not have a pressing deadline (ex. studying for an exam in two
weeks). These tasks can move to Quadrant I if not completed. Personal and self-care tasks fall into Quadrant II. It is important to first take care of Quadrant I then Quadrant II. These Quadrant II tasks can be broken down over a period of time. Avoid stress & poor work quality by completing these tasks before they move to Quadrant I.
- Quadrant III:
Not Important and Urgent These tasks require our attention right now, but do not help us achieve our goals. These tasks look like interruptions from other people or favors; they're often time-consuming. They are not necessarily bad, but they need to be balanced with activities from Quadrants I and II. The solution is to become more assertive and start to politely say no so you can focus on your priorities.
- Quadrant IV:
Not Important and Not Urgent These tasks are mostly distractions and could take up most of the day if not moderated. These activities do not have to be
eliminated, but should be pushed until other important tasks are completed. After a busy day, watching TV or going on social media can help you relax. Just make sure that they are not taking most of your day!
Urgent vs. Important
Urgent tasks require your immediate attention. These tasks put you in a hurried mindset & generate stress. Important tasks help you achieve long-term goals. To know what things are actually important, you first have to figure out your own goals.
Benefits
- It helps to prioritize complex or unclear issues when there are multiple criteria for determining importance.
- It provides a quick and easy, yet consistent method for evaluating options.
- It is adaptable for many priority setting needs like projects, services, personal, etc.
- Quadrant I:
Important and Urgent These are the activities that you have to do right away: crises, problems, or deadlines. These are tasks that were in Quadrant II and we kept pushing away until they became urgent. Even though tasks will always come up that are important and urgent, to reduce them, we can take more time doing the tasks from Quadrant II.
- Quadrant II:
Important and Not Urgent These are tasks that help us achieve long term goals but do not have a pressing deadline (ex. studying for an exam in two
weeks). These tasks can move to Quadrant I if not completed. Personal and self-care tasks fall into Quadrant II. It is important to first take care of Quadrant I then Quadrant II. These Quadrant II tasks can be broken down over a period of time. Avoid stress & poor work quality by completing these tasks before they move to Quadrant I.
- Quadrant III:
Not Important and Urgent These tasks require our attention right now, but do not help us achieve our goals. These tasks look like interruptions from other people or favors; they're often time-consuming. They are not necessarily bad, but they need to be balanced with activities from Quadrants I and II. The solution is to become more assertive and start to politely say no so you can focus on your priorities.
- Quadrant IV:
Not Important and Not Urgent These tasks are mostly distractions and could take up most of the day if not moderated. These activities do not have to be
eliminated, but should be pushed until other important tasks are completed. After a busy day, watching TV or going on social media can help you relax. Just make sure that they are not taking most of your day!
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