Do Now

In this example, the purple box is quadrant 1: Do Now, and it contains the most pressing and important tasks. These are the “must do” items for the day. Whether professional or personal, these are the tasks with a very near deadline. This could be one-time, or regular tasks such as weekly reports. Regardless of the type of activity, this has to be done and done soon. I prefer to assume a max of 36 hrs. until the task must be completed. If the task at hand needs to be completed, but not within 36 hours, I put it into quadrant 2: Decide.

Before we jump to quadrant 2, lets look a bit more at Q1. Every day you need to put Q1 as your daily plan. This is where we eliminate the noise of the other quadrants and make real progress toward our goals. We will see in quadrant 3 why this is different from other urgent items that are not important. 

Decide

Quadrant 2 is the green box in the above graphic, and consists of important items that do not have an immediate deadline. These are the tasks that you have time to work on or to make further decisions. They may be more long-term goals or activities such as what investment firm to use, or which college to attend. What matters is that the tasks in this category could become a Q1 task at some point, but it isn’t there now. 

Delegate

Next is quadrant 3: Delegate, which are tasks that are low value, but still must be done within 36 hours. This sometimes gets confusing as it is easy to assume that an urgent task must also be important. However, there are many tasks that are urgent, but not important. I think the most common culprit is the notifications on our phone or other mobile device. That flashing light gets our attention telling us that, “something is urgent.” But how often is it a spam email or text message that can wait? These are items that, while urgent, are not important. 

Eliminate

Quadrant 4: Eliminate is the stuff that really doesn’t need to be done. These tasks are neither urgent, nor important. Typically these are time wasters and productivity killers. Frankly, social media is a Q4 task. Be honest, nearly all of your social media time provides nothing to move you toward your personal or professional goals. That is why it is included in the “Eliminate” quadrant. 

Application

Depending on your business model, there are several tasks that may fall in either Q2 or Q3. Sometimes there is confusion about whether or not important tasks can be delegated, or how to manage urgent and important tasks for which you lack the appropriate skill set. Here is an easy example. In my business, we provide professional bookkeeping services. These services are important as all businesses are required by law to keep and maintain accurate financial records. However, many small business owners lack the skill and time to properly maintain their books. 

Using the Eisenhower Matrix, a business owner may place bookkeeping in Q2 as an important, but not urgent issue. At the end of the month, bookkeeping is now Q1 as it is both important and urgent. But if the business owner lacks the skills and time to address the bookkeeping, the task could be moved to a Q3 and either a new employee is hired to maintain the books, or the job is outsourced to a professional. Either way, all contractors can be considered as Q3 tasks even though the work performed is still important. 

Ultimately, the Eisenhower Matrix is a useful tool to help identify tasks by importance or urgency. Like all tools, it is only as good as the skills of the user. No tool can solve all problems, but with practice and dedication, mastery is possible. Feel free to print off the graphic provided and use it in your personal or professional life. I hope it will help you make better decisions, prioritize tasks and eliminate wast from your life.