Eisenhower Decision Matrix

Created by Sunneva Gaardlykke

Abstract

Prioritising work tasks as an individual or a team is crucial for ensuring success and to avoid stress. One popular method for doing this is the Eisenhower Decision Matrix. Former president of the USA, Dwight D. Eisenhower, once said: "What is important is seldom urgent, and what is urgent is seldom important." These are the words behind the concept of the Eisenhower Decision Matrix. Later on, Stephen Covey made the method popular in relation to time and task management by including the method in his book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

The concept of the Eisenhower Decision Matrix is to prioritise tasks based on their urgency and importance, by categorising them into four quadrants: "Q1: Urgent and Important," "Q2: Important but Not Urgent," "Q3: Urgent but Not Important," and "Q4: Not Urgent nor Important." By analysing tasks in this manner, teams and individuals can concentrate their energy on the most important and urgent tasks while delegating or postponing the less important ones. In a normal workday this can be done very easily by simply numbering the tasks on your to-do list according to the quadrants in the matrix, and then starting by doing the tasks numbered 1, then delegating the tasks numbered 3 and planning/doing tasks numbered 2. As for the tasks which are numbered 4, they should be done at last or simply deleted.

The Eisenhower Decision Matrix is a useful tool for project managers and team members, as it provides a clear framework for determining task priority and making informed decisions about how to allocate time and resources.

Big Idea

• Explaining the difference between urgency and importance.
• The overall concept of the Eisenhower Decision Matrix.
• Explaining the four quadrants of the matrix:
  • Q1: Urgent and Important
  • Q2: Important but Not Urgent
  • Q3: Urgent but Not Important
  • Q4: Not Urgent nor Important

Application

• How to use this matrix to prioritise tasks:
  • Q1: Urgent and Important -> Do it NOW
  • Q2: Important but Not Urgent -> Schedule the task
  • Q3: Urgent but Not Important -> Delegate the task
  • Q4: Not Urgent nor Important -> Delete
• Example

Limitations

• This matrix only considers two factors: urgency and importance.
• Compare with the Sung diagram

Annotated bibliography

Covey, Stephen R. (2013). The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change, 25th anniversary edn. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-1-4516-3961-2

Bratterud, H., Burgess, M., Fasy, B.T., Millman, D.L., Oster, T., Sung, E. (2020). The Sung Diagram: Revitalizing the Eisenhower Matrix. In: Pietarinen, AV., Chapman, P., Bosveld-de Smet, L., Giardino, V., Corter, J., Linker, S. (eds) Diagrammatic Representation and Inference. Diagrams 2020. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 12169. Springer, Cham. https://doi-org.proxy.findit.cvt.dk/10.1007/978-3-030-54249-8_43

Kennedy, D.R., Porter, A.L. (2022). The Illusion of Urgency. In: American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, vol 86. American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy. https://doi.org/10.5688/ajpe8914