Eisenhower (Urgent-Important) Matrix
“What is important is seldom urgent and what is urgent is seldom important” - Dwight D. Eisenhower
This is very useful technique for creating a To-Do list. It categorizes all the tasks on basis of Urgent and Important activities.
Urgent issues are the ones which need immediate attention. e.g. customer escalation. Urgent issues can also be result of procrastination or unplanned activities getting delayed till last minute.
Important issues are the ones which are aimed towards certain short-term or long-term goals. e.g. process improvements.
| Urgent | Important | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| ☑ | ☑ | Do it now! |
| ☒ | ☑ | Schedule it |
| ☑ | ☒ | Delegate |
| ☒ | ☒ | Eliminate |
Urgent and Important are obviously take the highest priority.
Important, but less urgent tasks need to be planned to make sure that those will be done in timely manner, so that they do not become urgent in future.
Urgent, but not important can be delegated. But, these need to be tracked to make sure that these are attended by somebody in timely manner.
Not Urgent and also not important can be avoided. These are usually just present distractions.