The Eisenhower Matrix: Explained in 2 Minutes
Eisenhower - Eisenhower
A quick explainer on the Eisenhower Matrix, which sorts tasks by urgency and importance into do, schedule, delegate and delete. Use it to plan your week rather than react to whatever lands next.
Key takeaways
- Separate what feels urgent from what is genuinely important.
- Block time for important tasks before urgent ones fill the diary.
- Delegate or drop tasks that do not need you.
Reflect on it
- Which important but not urgent task keeps slipping, and when will I schedule it?
- What could I delegate or stop doing this week?
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The Eisenhower Matrix is a simple prioritisation tool named after US President Dwight D. Eisenhower. It helps you decide what to do now, what to plan, what to hand over and what to drop.
Why it is worth 2 minutes
When everything feels urgent, it is easy to spend the day firefighting. The matrix gives you a quick way to step back and focus on what matters.
The key points
- Do: urgent and important tasks - deal with them now.
- Schedule: important but not urgent - plan time for them.
- Delegate: urgent but not important - pass them to someone else where you can.
- Delete: neither urgent nor important - drop them.
- Most meaningful progress happens in the "important but not urgent" box.
Where to go next
Read get organised and beat procrastination with the Eisenhower decision matrix and the 4 Ds of time management.
Turn it into CPD
Watch the video, then answer the reflection questions under it and log it to your free Passport.
Add this to your CPD log
Sign in to save what you've read - we'll create a free CPD log for you.