The Eisenhower Matrix as a Priority Setting Tool

Who invented the matrix and why is it called that?

The matrix received its name in honor of the 34th US President Dwight Eisenhower, who once said:

— I have two types of problems: urgent and important. The urgent are not important, and the important are never urgent.

It is usually claimed that Eisenhower himself came up with the matrix, but we have not found any serious evidence for this. One of the earliest descriptions of this technique is found in the German time management specialist Lothar Seiwert in the book “Mehr Zeit für das Wesentliche” (1984), which was published here as “Your time is in your hands.”

The matrix gained wide popularity after American business coach Stephen Covey spoke about it in his book “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” (1989). This is why the Eisenhower matrix is ​​sometimes called the Stephen Covey matrix (or quadrants).

Not urgent or important matters

They have no importance for the future. These are things that distract you from your main job. They are usually very pleasant, but completely useless. Eisenhower himself called them “time wasters” and considered them destructive to efficient work processes.

Examples: personal phone calls and letters, social networks, computer games, endless snacks and tea breaks.

You can safely cross these things off the list, and do them only when you really have free time.

How to fill out the matrix

To understand which square of the Eisenhower Matrix to place tasks in, you need to correctly assess their importance and urgency. Let's see what these concepts consist of.

Importance

An important task is a task that is aimed at achieving a person’s main goals or is directly related to his life values ​​(family, health, finances, etc.).

Let's imagine that a certain person has a main goal - to make a successful career in the company in which he works. family and health (values) are also very important to him Here's how the importance of tasks would be assessed in his case:

Sometimes it is advised to determine the importance of tasks using the question: “Does this need to be done?” The problem is that having to do a task doesn't say anything about its importance.

For example, do you need to wash the dishes? Of course, otherwise the kitchen will quickly turn into a garbage dump. But is this task important? If cleanliness in the house is not the main value for us, then no: we can spend a lot of time washing dishes, but this will not change anything in our lives.

Urgency

An urgent task is a task that cannot be put off. If you postpone it, then:

• It will lose relevance;
• Or we will have problems and troubles;
• Or we will miss the opportunity.

Here is how the urgency of tasks will be assessed based on the criteria listed above:

It is important to understand that the urgency of the same task can vary depending on the specific situation. For example, “prepare for an exam” is not an urgent task if the exam is still four months away, but it is urgent if the exam is already this week.

Task sorting algorithm

To distribute tasks across the squares of the matrix, you must first compile a list of these tasks. This could be a daily to-do list, a weekly to-do list, or even a list of all current tasks in general. For example:

If you are just starting to work with the matrix, we recommend asking the following questions for each task:

1. Does this task relate to my goals and values?
2. Can this task be postponed?

After answering both questions, place your problem in the appropriate box. Here's how to diagram this algorithm:

As an example, let's try to "process" the above list:

It is better to interpret all doubts in the direction of increasing priority. For example, if we cannot immediately understand how urgent a task is, it is safer to mark it as urgent.

Once you can quickly determine the importance and urgency of tasks, you can move on to a more “traditional” sorting method:

In general, the process of filling out the matrix is ​​not very difficult, but you need to get used to it. Over time, each task will take you no more than 2-3 seconds.

Unimportant but urgent matters

These are those things that don’t really bring you closer to your main goals, don’t give you anything useful for your soul, body or wallet, but at the same time they can masquerade as important and necessary. Often they only distract you from what you really need, wasting your time.

For example, it could be a call from your friend with a conversation about things that do not interest you, which drags on for a long time and involves you. Or an unexpected order from your boss that is not related to your direct tasks.

To monitor the importance of a task, ask yourself, “What’s the worst thing that will happen if I don’t do this?”

Matrix squares

Each square of the Eisenhower Matrix plays a special role in our lives. Let's look at them in a little more detail.

Square A (important - urgent)

Other names: Emergency Square, Crisis Square, Result Square (by B. Tracy).

This square includes tasks that cannot be delayed and are directly related to our goals and values. These are various emergencies and emergency situations, health problems and family problems, direct job responsibilities, instructions from management, favorable opportunities and much more. Also, “burning” cases from squares B and C are often placed in this square.

Failure to complete such tasks in a timely manner may negatively affect the achievement of our goals, cause trouble or lost profits.

This is the highest priority and at the same time the most problematic square in the Eisenhower matrix. Judge for yourself:

• Urgent matters are often imposed on us from the outside and do not coincide with our aspirations. By doing such things, we are simply submitting to the dictates of urgency, rather than taking control of our own lives.
• Many of the tasks in Quadrant A do not help us move forward; they are often just about putting out fires to maintain the current status quo.
• Staying in this square is usually accompanied by stress, and prolonged stay can lead to burnout.

If the schedule is dominated by tasks from square A, this is an alarming symptom. It points to serious miscalculations in planning: incorrect prioritization, inability to rationally distribute one’s forces, inability to delegate, etc.

What to do with these tasks

Things in square A should be done immediately. If you ignore them and put them off for a long time, this can lead to even bigger troubles. For example, if, instead of visiting a dentist, you stubbornly suppress toothache with painkillers, this will result in gumboil or tooth loss. And if you don’t apologize to the client for a mistake in time, this can damage the company’s reputation.

Urgent and important matters can be delegated, but this should be done with great caution. Make sure the contractor is competent and be sure to supervise his work.

Ideally, only unforeseen matters (force majeure and favorable opportunities) should fall into this square.

Square B (important - not urgent)

Other names: Strategic square, Well-being square, Potential square.

This includes tasks that are aimed directly at achieving our goals. Usually these are various “investments in the future”: self-development activities, personal projects, searching for new opportunities, etc.

This is the most important square in the matrix: it is thanks to it that we change our lives for the better. After all, what usually helps us achieve our goals is not urgent tasks, but those tasks that we carry out systematically, persistently and thoughtfully.

What to do with these tasks

Things from square B should be planned and completed in the time allotted for them. For example, if we want to learn a foreign language, we need to set aside at least one hour for daily study and build that hour into our schedule. When planning such tasks, you can use various time management techniques: SMART technique, decomposition, grouping, etc.

Although things in Quadrant B are not urgent, they cannot be completely ignored. Firstly, without their implementation it is rarely possible to improve the quality of your life. For example, we can hardly count on a successful career if we do not pay attention to professional growth.

Secondly, tasks from square A are often tasks from square B that were not completed on time. For example, the owner of an online store puts off correcting errors on the site for a long time. During the New Year's promotion, the site cannot cope with the load and crashes. Now the owner will have to urgently look for programmers and correct these errors in emergency mode.

Square C (not important - urgent)

Other names: Square of Illusions, Square of Vanity, Square of Interference.

Square C contains tasks that urgently need to be completed, but which have almost no impact on our main goals.

The main problem with this square is that it can easily be confused with square A. Because of the way we think, all urgent matters usually seem important to us, even when they are not. Square C gives us the illusion of being productive, but does not improve our lives.

Yes, tasks from square C usually also need to be performed: for mental comfort, to maintain quality of life, to maintain social connections, etc.

However, it is important to understand that time spent on these tasks is time taken away from our goals. For example, we could be working on our project, but we have to deal with a broken printer. We could spend time with our family, but we are required to attend some unnecessary meeting. In other words, the tasks in Quadrant C are just nuisances that distract us from the things that really matter.

What to do with these tasks

Time spent on activities in Quadrant C should be kept to a minimum. This can be done in different ways:

• Delegate these tasks (transfer them to your subordinates or relevant specialists).
• Automate them. For example, to pay for Internet or utility bills on time, it is convenient to set up automatic payment.
• Optimize (see How to speed up your work).
• Learn to say “no” to those who waste our time.

Of course, it is unlikely that you will be able to completely get rid of things from square C. Therefore, you should constantly remind yourself of the low importance of these tasks and try not to spend too much time on them.

The essence of the quadrants of the matrix

Once we understand the basic structure of the prioritization method, we can look at each window of the Eisenhower Matrix in detail. The Eisenhower Matrix as a prioritization tool is useful for determining the importance of your plans at a particular point in time.

Quadrant A

It includes important urgent tasks that cannot be postponed until later, as this can lead to negative consequences. For successful planning, you need to start with sector A. An example of such cases could be a complex unexpected operation or an unscheduled meeting. This sector is very important for a person’s life, but if you learn to plan your time correctly, then ideally this square should be completely empty, without any plans. If major plans are completed on time, significant tasks will not become urgent; their implementation within a specific time frame does not make them urgent.

Sector A plans can appear for two reasons:

• Internal reasons : depend directly on the person (lack of motivation to perform, laziness, lack of desire or professionalism);
• External reasons: do not depend on the subject himself (sharp deterioration in health, force majeure).

To prevent these reasons from interfering with your activities, you do not need to postpone valuable optional tasks (this is already sector B) until the last day, since some conditions may affect their non-fulfillment and then you will accumulate valuable tasks.

Quadrant B

Important non-urgent. The plans of this sector must be carried out regularly, without postponing until later, since their timely implementation is an indicator of your productivity and success in your activities. The affairs of this quadrant do not require fulfillment here and now, but their value indicates the occurrence of negative consequences if a person ignores them. The more significant the task is for you, the more negative the consequences of its failure will be. That is why you should give preference to important matters first, then urgent ones. For ideal self-satisfaction, a person must complete meaningful urgent and meaningful non-urgent tasks completely. The tasks of this sector include, for example, immediately seeing a doctor, mastering the skills to successfully perform activities in a new workplace in order to get the next promotion.

It is better to do the important tasks that affect your life first than the unimportant ones. © D. D. Eisenhower

The Eisenhower Matrix as a tool for prioritizing shows: if you sort your plans correctly and in a timely manner, then in any area of ​​human life there will be no rush jobs that exhaust the human body physically and psychologically. Sector B will not move to sector A if we correctly plan our tasks for the first time.

Quadrant C

It doesn't matter, it's urgent. The urgency of plans does not always determine their importance. Eisenhower said that if urgent tasks interfere with the execution of valuable ones, then it is better to postpone them. To understand the importance of your plans, ask yourself a simple question: “What will happen if you don’t complete this task?” If you realize that there are no or minimal negative consequences, then the matter is not important at the moment. Look for more meaningful tasks that actually threaten negative consequences for you.

These types of activities include, for example, participating in a social survey, calling a friend just to chat. “Sector C” plans have a significant drawback: they prevent a person from working effectively and doing important things, since they are constantly distracting and make them worry. Any distraction can have negative consequences, so if any interference occurs when performing important tasks, try to either eliminate them before performing them. If you carry out only urgent matters, a huge number of important things can accumulate at one moment and then it is difficult to direct yourself in the right direction and concentrate to carry them out.

Quadrant D

Not urgent, not important. This sector brings together the most unnecessary non-urgent tasks; their implementation does not bring any benefit at the moment. If a person concentrates on them, then significant things will accumulate very quickly and lead to negative consequences. This includes, for example, hanging out on social networks, various computer games that simply kill a person’s time without any benefit.

But not all non-urgent, unimportant tasks are so useless. If you have long wanted to neatly arrange books in your library, or clean out your closet with clothes, then doing these things will bring benefits and pleasure from the result, but you should not strive to do them if you have important things to do. The Eisenhower table as a method of effective planning is a useful method for identifying significant valuable tasks and helps to complete them in a fairly short period of time. It is designed to complete one-day tasks or those that need to be completed in the near future.

Where to create the Eisenhower matrix

Let's list the most popular options.

Paper. Draw a tablet on any sheet of paper (you can simply divide the sheet into four parts) and write down the tasks on it. This matrix is ​​used in the same way as a regular to-do list: you carry it with you and cross off tasks as you complete them.

Kanban. A Kanaban board is a pre-marked surface (plywood, cardboard, sheet of Whatman paper) onto which stickers with tasks are attached. This tool helps make the Eisenhower matrix as visual as possible: tasks can be conveniently viewed, analyzed, sorted, etc. You can add two more fields to the matrix itself: “New tasks” (not yet sorted) and “Completed tasks.”

Organizer. The way you implement the matrix in the organizer will depend on the capabilities of your program. Here are some options:

• The simplest one is to create separate task categories for each square.
• Use labels (tags, labels) “important” and “urgent”. By filtering tasks using these tags, you can quickly find tasks from the desired square. This method is relevant, for example, for the Todoist service.
• Use priority icons (checkboxes, stars, etc.). The highest priority can be set for tasks in square A, medium for tasks in square B, and so on.

eisenhower.me. An online service popular in the West for working with the Eisenhower matrix (alas, there is no Russian interface). If desired, the finished matrix can be printed, and the tasks themselves can be completed using the Pomodoro technique.

Smartphone applications. There are several good applications for working with the Eisenhower matrix directly on your smartphone. The most popular programs today are the following:

• Android: MyEffectiveness, Ike, Tasks, 4Do
• iPhone: Focus Matrix, Improve My Life, Taskman

How to Use the Matrix (Basic Strategies)

Let us immediately note that there is no single correct way to work with the Eisenhower matrix. The squares of the matrix are rather advisory in nature: they simply help you make an informed decision on each task. The procedure for working with these tasks is determined by the person himself, based on his needs and specific situation.

Here are some common strategies for working with the Eisenhower Matrix:

Firefighting Strategy. Tasks are completed in order of urgency. We start with the most important and urgent matters (square A), then we move on to urgent but not important matters (square C), and only then to the rest of the tasks.

The strategy is suitable for those cases when we are “drowning” in things and don’t know what to grab onto. Its main drawback is that we start tasks from square B when we are already quite tired. Sometimes we have neither time nor energy left for these tasks.

"Pay yourself first" strategy. Its essence is to strictly plan time for important tasks from square B (morning hours and the first half of the day are best suited for this). The rest of the tasks are performed in the windows between these “fixed clocks”.

With this approach, we first think about achieving our goals, and only then about everything else.

Strategy "Flexible approach". We look at the matrix and select a task that is appropriate to complete right now. The choice of task will depend on its priority and the current context.

This strategy is suitable for any situation. Its disadvantage is that a person constantly has to analyze the situation and make decisions. Some of these decisions may be dictated by emotions, procrastination, or spontaneous desires.

Important but not urgent

This is your potential. Cases that have a great impact on the future, but do not require an emergency solution. Eisenhower was confident that this category should be the most important of the four. Assigning a specific task to this item and systematically completing it will provide enough time for thoughtful and high-quality execution.

The ability to identify from a to-do list those that should be in that category is one of the most important tasks that the Eisenhower Matrix performs. An example of such cases is evaluating the results obtained, developing new projects, determining development prospects, and building relationships.

Very often people put off exactly such things, but this cannot be done, since they are the key to success in life. In order to avoid temptation, it is very useful to set deadlines for their implementation.

Several tricks

1. At the very beginning, you can keep a list of your main goals and values ​​at hand: this “cheat sheet” will help you evaluate tasks faster and more accurately.

2. If in your life there is a clear line between work and personal life (for example, you work strictly from 8-00 to 17-00), create two separate matrices. If this line is not so obvious (for example, you are a small business owner or a freelancer), then it is more convenient to keep all your affairs in one place.

3. Use color codes to quickly find tasks in your list from the desired square. Often it is enough to “color” only the problems from square A.

4. If you use an organizer, set up automatic repetition for tasks that you have to do regularly (monthly payments, weekly workouts, etc.). In this case, you will not have to re-distribute these tasks between the squares each time.

5. If you are under time pressure and want to have time to do all the most important things, prioritize within the squares themselves. For example, mark the most important and urgent task as “A1”, the second priority as “A2”, etc. Tasks from square D do not need to be marked.

6. If you want to assess the importance and urgency of your affairs even more accurately, add additional cells to the matrix. For example:

Important and urgent matters: setting priorities

08 Apr 2011 Imagine that you live on a planet where the day is 42 hours, and not 24, as on Earth, you need only 2 hours to sleep to restore your functionality, and not 6-8, like most people. As a result, you have as much as 40 hours of time at your disposal! Sounds very tempting. Many would not mind one or two extra hours, believing that the extra time would make their lives easier and reduce severe stress. However, is this so? Can a forty-hour day solve all problems?

Unmade phone calls; a series of unfinished household chores; unread books; remaining unfinished articles; pending reports; letters that have not received a response; friends and parents who were not visited - this sad and long list of unfinished tasks has no end. Thoughts of unfinished business begin to haunt us as soon as we stop to take stock. If there are 40 hours in a day, will there be no unfinished business? Hardly…

You can work day and night, but not accomplish the main thing. The most annoying, big and inevitable thing that hinders us is the huge amount of so-called urgent matters

- slavery that fetters and destroys all our efforts. Feelings of doubt, anxiety, apprehension and dissatisfaction arise not from the severity and volume of work, but from being burdened with a multitude of started but unfinished tasks, from the abundance of what you wanted to do, but were not done.

Reflecting on your life, thinking about what is happening, you can easily come to the conclusion that the reason lies not only in lack of time. The origins of the problem lie much deeper and concern the determination of priorities. The first priority in time management is the ability to set goals and prioritize. The latter helps to identify the most important tasks and get rid of the slavery of urgent matters.

Confused Priorities

No one person can handle all the things that need to be done or would like to be done. A common phenomenon is the desire to do too many things immediately. However, summing up, we are discouraged by the fact that we were not engaged in vital and primary things, but in secondary and tertiary ones, not at all necessary and small. To increase the number of working hours, some work at night. However, we forget that the state of stress arises not because of what we did, but because of what we did not have time to do.

The problem of defining and distinguishing cases by degree of importance and urgency is very relevant. In fact, it is only in rare cases that an important task requires immediate execution. Read a book on your specialty, talk to your son about his views on friendship, develop a new technology, help your parents with renovations, write a long-planned article - all this, it would seem, can wait. On the contrary, so-called urgent matters

require execution either immediately, or within thirty minutes, or before the end of the working day, or today, or, in extreme cases, tomorrow.

Insistent phone calls, constant requests, a desk littered with papers, and knocks on the door hourly keep us in suspense, insisting on fulfillment. It turns out that urgent matters are inevitable and important, large-scale and urgent, absorbing all our energy. However, their priority is deceptive. Our priorities are misplaced and we become slaves to urgent matters. We are inevitably haunted by a sense of loss and depressed by the knowledge that we did not have time to complete important work. The only way to cope with the flow of tasks, business meetings, agreements and reports is to clearly define their priority.

How to avoid slavery

By learning to prioritize correctly, you will be able to concentrate your attention on the main things. There are many rules, techniques and principles that can help you master the secrets of distinguishing between the important and the urgent. Let's look at some of them.

■ Always keep your main goal in sight.

Focus on which products actually lead to achieving the goal and which do not. Your goal must be consistent with your inner state of peace, consistent with your moral principles and level of spirituality. In this case, you will be able to prioritize logically, painlessly and without fuss. The main goals in your life will be projected onto the goals that you set for five years, years, months, weeks and days. Some people will not agree that a goal needs to be set for every day. However, it is your highest spiritual values ​​that will allow you to do this naturally, gaining a sense of balance in order to do the things that really matter.

Remember that your main goal is your personal

target. The goals and priorities of your loved ones, your company and management may differ, and sometimes even run counter to yours. In this regard, it is necessary to build “exchange” relationships with the environment (helping each other achieve goals, coordinating interests, using time and other resources). Try to be useful to each other in the best sense of the word, but personal goals should always be a priority.

■ Write down all the main tasks for the year, month, week, day) and evaluate the degree of importance of each of them

on a five-point scale (5 - vitally important, 4 - very important, 3 - more important than not, 2 - I doubt the importance, 1 - not important). Rate the degree of urgency of each of the recorded cases on a four-point scale (4 - urgent, 3 - very urgent, 2 - quite urgent, but can wait, 1 - not at all urgent). Multiply the first number by the second and first complete tasks where the result of the multiplication is greater than 16 (important and urgent), and then those where the result is 12 or more. This arrangement will help you allocate time for things that are truly important, useful, and goal-oriented.

■ Review all cases into four categories.
Important and urgent matters
are a special category of matters (vital, global). Their implementation cannot be delayed under any circumstances, and failure to fulfill them can destroy all plans and have a detrimental effect on achieving goals. You should start doing such things first, but you should not forget about controlling their volume, otherwise there will be no time left for anything else. If you ensure that important things do not turn into urgent ones (that is, you always complete important things on time), then we can say that you have the highest skill in time management.

Important but not urgent matters

- main work, establishing new business connections, improving personal and professional qualities. If you do not pay attention to such matters in time, then you will face failure in the future. By investing time in your development, you will be able to find successful, creative solutions and ideas and bring them to life (for example, reading and studying, participating in various professional forums and conferences, attending master classes).

Things are urgent, but unimportant

- a lot of “paper” work, phone calls, email correspondence, endless requests from colleagues, watching news and periodicals. It is the things in this category that we often consider important and, as a result, we spend more time on them than necessary. Such an erroneous assessment threatens the failure to complete important tasks.

Things that are unimportant and not urgent

- reading jokes, aimlessly watching all kinds of TV shows, empty hour-long thoughts like: “If only...” Of course, such activities can be elements of relaxation, but try to minimize the time spent on such unproductive activities.

■ Adopt a matrix for determining priorities by degree of importance and urgency (ABC analysis)

. This principle is consistent with the four categories described above, only, according to it, all tasks, given their importance and urgency, can be divided into three levels:

- A-tasks - very important and urgent - require immediate execution (promising projects, new profitable contacts);

- V-tasks - important, but not urgent - require determination of deadlines for their completion (current affairs, planning, business meetings);

- S-tasks - not very important, but urgent - need to be delegated to subordinates (routine duties, reports).

The biggest danger is the possibility of getting carried away by the urgency of C-tasks, postponing the completion of B- and even A-tasks. Unimportant and non-urgent matters, according to the described matrix, are not included in the scope of the manager’s tasks at all, despite the fact that this is associated with a certain risk.

■ Keep in mind that in addition to completing tasks, you also need to find time for people.

It also requires the ability to prioritize, separating the important from the urgent. Some meetings may not be worth our attention at all, while others can be spent a few minutes. However, set aside whole hours for conversations with important people, but be sure to determine how important these people are to you (not to be confused with needed), how close and dear they are to you. One of the most valuable gifts God has given us is the luxury of human communication. Don’t lose it because of excessive haste, but also don’t waste your time on random, “secondary” people.

■ Consider the principle of the American economist and scientist Vilfredo Pareto,

according to which, on average, 20% of the resources spent provide 80% of the result, and the remaining 80% of the resources are spent on 20% of the result. Knowing this principle allows you, when considering a to-do list, to highlight those 20% that give the maximum result and, as a result, require special attention. Thus, only 20% of all assigned tasks should be a priority in your long-term and short-term plans, and it is on their implementation that you need to spend most of your time.

■ Use the Alps method to help you properly manage the time needed to complete your daily, weekly, and monthly tasks.

This method involves performing the following five steps:

— write down all upcoming tasks, setting deadlines;

- determine the approximate amount of time required to complete each task;

— take into account buffer time (rest, eating, correcting mistakes);

— set priorities by numbering things according to their importance;

— at the end of the period (day, week, month), conduct an analysis to take into account unfulfilled tasks; carry them over to the next period.

■ Learn to build a pyramid of importance.

You can use Maslow's pyramid to divide your importance pyramid into five horizontal parts. Its levels can be painted in different colors: each color will indicate the degree of importance and urgency.

First level

(the base) of the pyramid form vital and urgent matters, if not completed, the entire pyramid may collapse. Thus, these tasks have top priority. As a rule, they can be easily identified in a general list: urgent issues relating to your health and the health of your loved ones, the primary tasks of your professional and career growth, the development of new methods and technologies, promising projects, work strategy.

Second level

form important and fairly urgent matters. This is where grading issues often arise—what work is really important but can wait a little longer. Imagine that the tasks assigned to this level turned out to be unfulfilled. Will the entire pyramid collapse in this case? If yes, we move these things to the base of the pyramid; if not, we leave them in second place. Most often these are issues related to the stability of family and other interpersonal relationships, orders from management, the development of tactical decisions, current projects, business meetings and the production process.

Third level

- current, but not the most important matters. Often such matters are also urgent and relate to some orders from management, requests from colleagues, email correspondence, work and personal phone calls, and reports.

Fourth level

create things that are not included in your work schedule or personal plan. Of course, they are relevant to your work or life, but they are not at all the main thing. This could be holiday greetings or minor meetings.

Fifth level

- This is free time to communicate with family and colleagues. These are the most enjoyable activities, but they are not directly related to work or personal matters.

So, by using all of the above principles, or just some of them, you will significantly improve your ability to identify and set priorities. None of the methods described is a panacea and does not guarantee that you will perfectly learn to determine the degree of importance and urgency of current affairs. Approach this process creatively - combine different techniques, develop your own style, test it in practice, consolidate successful moments and use knowledge of priorities in your planning.

Advantages and disadvantages of the method

The Eisenhower Matrix is ​​often touted today as an ideal way of setting priorities that works flawlessly in almost any situation. But this is not true: the matrix, like other time management techniques, has its advantages and disadvantages. Let's look at them in order.

Advantages

1. Simplicity. The matrix is ​​very easy to master: it does not require long-term study of theory and mastery of complex algorithms. And to use this technique, just find a sheet of paper and some kind of pencil. Its popularity is mainly due to this simplicity.

2. Fast results. Essentially, prioritization comes down to quickly assessing tasks and distributing them among four squares. For people who regularly use the matrix, this process usually takes no more than 2-3 minutes.

3. Versatility. The technique can be used virtually anywhere: at work, in school, in business, etc. However, the versatility of the matrix does not mean that it always gives the best results.

4. Suitable for any planning horizon. Using the Eisenhower Matrix, you can sort things by day, by week, by month, or even by year.

5. Convenient time management diagnostics. The matrix helps you quickly identify gaps in your planning system. For example, if tasks from square D begin to dominate on the to-do list, then a person should think about self-discipline and the fight against chronophages.

6. Simple determination of the right strategy. If our to-do list is dominated by tasks from quadrant B and we focus primarily on completing them, then our chances of achieving our goals increase significantly.

The importance of time management in human life

Life has value if it represents a constant struggle for a worthy cause. © D.D. Eisenhower

The world-famous 34th President of America, David Eisenhower, tried to understand time management. It was the study of this area that made him popular throughout the world. He studied in detail ways of effective planning and step-by-step implementation of plans. This is how the Eisenhower Matrix appeared as a tool for setting priorities. We will look at his technique in more detail later in our article.

Time management is the ability of a person to correctly distribute his time to complete planned tasks. This phenomenon has been studied for many years by various psychologists, everyone tried to understand how this method of properly planning what was planned works. Renowned psychologist David Allen has written a book on the fundamentals and practice of effective planning.

Nowadays, the bustle and diversity of modern life increasingly forces us to turn to methods for successfully structuring the intended tasks and correctly and quickly implementing them. Correct prioritization allows you to quickly and efficiently complete work of any complexity, comprehend your mistakes, and learn new skills in the process of achieving your goal.

Eisenhower's Personality in the Study of Time Management

David Eisenhower was a famous US President. He became famous throughout the world for his intelligence and organizational skills. During his life, he built a brilliant military career, which left a significant mark on the history of America. He successfully completed all tasks, always achieved the goals he set for himself, which earned him respect and became an example for many public figures.

Eisenhower believed that to live life well means to engage in worthy work that brings pleasure to its subject and benefit to others. As president, he increasingly asked himself questions about how to get everything done, done correctly and ultimately with success. These thoughts led him to create a method for arranging important tasks, which is intensively used in our time.

Thanks to his resourcefulness, confidence and striving for excellence, Eisenhower achieved success in everything; he accomplished everything he planned on time, without much difficulty. Many figures of his time were only surprised at his self-organization and tried to follow his methods of government, since the personality of such a president really deserves respect and could well be an example to follow. The Eisenhower Matrix as a prioritization tool is one of the main ways you can organize your work plan in your daily life.