Priority Matrix
An effective yet forgotten tool
We all dread Monday (those who don’t belong to a different species, at least in my opinion 😝). But have we ever wondered why?
You’d say it is because of 5 workdays ahead of us. It’s true but not completely. I believe the reason we have Monday blues is that there are so many things to be completed in just so much time.
Make a To-Do list you’d say — Yes yes, but every time I try to create a one, more often than not it ends up becoming so long that it leaves me overwhelmed.
So clearly, a To-Do list is half the solution.
The other half is prioritizing the items in that list.
‘There are so many factors to consider, how do we prioritize?”— Well, I know! Lucky for us, in this overly connected world, almost every problem has a solution.
Enter ‘Dwight D. Eisenhower’- He used a simple yet effective matrix to plan out & execute things better to achieve maximum efficiency.
Let’s deep dive to know more!
Eisenhower Matrix
Dwight D. Eisenhower was a five-star general and the 34th President of the US and thus you can imagine his To-Do list. Crazy!
But he was known for his ability to make decisions in times of conflict and duress. His Matrix was based on his idea — “What is important is seldom urgent, and what is urgent is seldom important.”
The core idea of the matrix was deciding what was important and what wasn’t, essentially it is a decision matrix that helps you divide tasks & time effectively based on importance.
Like most gems of history, even this was lost until recently, when it was re-introduced by Stephen Covey in his book — The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.
Let’s try to decode this matrix…
1. Important and Urgent — Red light Quadrant
Usually, this quadrant is occupied by two distinct types of activities — ones that are unexpected yet critical, and others that are the result of our procrastination.
How to manage — Needless to say, the latter can be avoided by reducing the ‘last-minute’ or ‘I still have time’ mindset.
The former, however, can’t always be predicted. The best strategy to handle this is to leave some time open in your schedule which only comes with proper planning of tasks in other quadrants.
If someday you have a lot of items here, take some time to analyze which ones could have been avoided and make a note.
For Eg: finishing work with deadlines, a last-minute client request, etc.
2. Important but Not Urgent — Strategy Quadrant
This is a quadrant that should list the items that enable your personal and professional growth. It is important to have plenty of time to do these things in their due time. This tests your planning/strategizing/scheduling skills so that you don’t end up shifting them in quadrant 1
For Eg: strategy planning, exercise, eating healthy, Networking, building new skills, Regular chores
3. Not Important but Urgent — Delegating Quadrant
Quadrant 3 is the most tricky and notorious one because it is so easy to confuse these tasks as important ones.
A common source of such activities is someone else’s priorities. Try to reschedule or delegate these as much as possible, so that your quadrant 1 & 2 are not overburdened.
For Eg: responding to some emails/phone calls, unnecessary interruptions, getting groceries, etc.
4. Not Important and Not Urgent — Distraction Quadrant
There is only one word for this quadrant — Distraction.
These things prevent you from achieving your goals. You might need it from time to time but most of the time it can simply be ignored. Try to have a grip of time whenever in this quadrant.
Eg: Mindlessly scrolling through Social media, TV, etc.
Urgent Vs Important
There’s a fine line between the two and it’s a superpower to know how to differentiate because then you will be able to prioritize, optimize, and eliminate tasks.
You already have the second step of optimizing your tasks — The Eisenhower Matrix. The first step lies in solving the urgent vs. important dilemma.
One word solution — elimination.
Whenever we get a problem, we straight away jump into trying to solve it, not taking a moment to think or decide if we should be the one working on the problem or whether it can be delegated or eliminated.
When it comes to organization, decluttering is often the first and most important step. Only by taking out the extra can you organize effectively. For example, Kevlin Henney aptly described this in terms of computer language:
“There is no code faster than no code.”
It means that efficiency doesn’t always come from being the fastest but eliminating unnecessary tasks.
Everything looks important, but you can’t do everything.
I hope next time when you are in the whirlpool of “n” number of tasks, you’ll have pen & paper ready to draw the Eisenhower Matrix and use it to plan better, execute and achieve better.
And to make a lasting impression here is a meme version to help you cement this idea 😄
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