Most people don’t prioritise tasks very well. I’m a very good example of this – recently, instead of revising for my exams or writing blog posts, I decided that playing around with my WordPress settings would be more important. Spoiler alert – it wasn’t more important. However, what is important is learning how to prioritise your tasks. And the Eisenhower Matrix is one of the best ways to do that.
- What is the Eisenhower Matrix?
- Should you use the Eisenhower Matrix?
- How do I use the Eisenhower Matrix?
- What are the benefits of using the Eisenhower Matrix?
- You won’t get overwhelmed
- You’ll focus on the meaningful tasks
- It’s so easy to get started
What is the Eisenhower Matrix?
I realise that the Eisenhower Matrix sounds super fancy and complicated, but it really isn’t. Essentially, you make a to-do list, then split those into four quadrants. Which quadrant it goes into depends on how important or urgent the task is. Then, depending on what quadrant the task is in, you either do, decide, delegate, or delete.
Should you use the Eisenhower Matrix?
Although not everyone NEEDS to use the Eisenhower Matrix, a lot of people should try to use it. If you feel like you waste time with small, meaningless tasks, then it might be for you! As well as this, if you have a tendency to get overwhelmed with the amount of tasks you have to do, then you really should use this in order to prioritise your tasks. Finally, if you’re a bit of a people pleaser (guilty!) and you say yes to a lot of tasks, then you need to use the Eisenhower Matrix to help you sort out your priorities!
How do I use the Eisenhower Matrix?
So, you’ve decided that the Eisenhower Matrix is for you and you want to get started! So the first thing you should do is make a list of all your tasks, and decide what quadrant they should go into.
- If the task is both important and urgent, do it now (or right after you finish reading this and filling in your Matrix).
- If it’s important but not urgent, schedule it for later, but make sure you do it!
- Tasks that are urgent but not important need to be delegated. Delegate fancy word for saying “make someone else do it for you”. If you don’t have someone to delegate this task to, then either automate it somehow, or just try doing it really quickly so you can get it out of the way!
- Finally, my favourite quadrant. When a task if both unimportant and not urgent, you get to cross it off your list and never deal with it again!
What are the benefits of using the Eisenhower Matrix?
You won’t get overwhelmed
By prioritising tasks in this way, you’ll know what order to do tasks in. This way, you’ll get a sense of order and stability, instead of feeling overwhelmed. As an added bonus, you can delete any tasks that are both unimportant and not urgent, decreasing your workload!
You’ll focus on the meaningful tasks
Using the Eisenhower Matrix, you’ll be able to prioritise high-reward tasks. Instead of checking your email 15 times or reading over your textbook, the Eisenhower Matrix will give you the ability to focus on the important tasks, like doing past papers to prepare for an exam.
It’s so easy to get started
You can literally start using the Eisenhower Matrix with a pen and a piece of paper. However, if you prefer to go digital and save the trees, I got you covered! You can get my free Eisenhower Matrix Notion template right here!
