The Eisenhower Matrix is an organizational tool that can bolster your decision-making, planning, prioritizing, delegating, and scheduling. The matrix was first created by Dwight D. Eisenhower to help him prioritize urgent and important tasks in the army and in the Oval Office.
The Eisenhower Matrix can be a key tool for your planning too. Let’s begin with definitions. What is urgent? And what is important? Most urgent tasks can feel universal (although with ADHD that may not always be the case), whereas most important tasks are subjective and depend on your personal goals and values. Urgent tasks are ones that demand attention immediately, for example, meeting a client’s deadline or paying a bill on time. Important tasks are those that contribute to our long-term goals and values. Succeeding in your career or living a healthier life are examples of those. Let’s break down the quadrants further.
Quadrant 1: Urgent & Important Tasks – Do it: These are tasks that should be completed immediately. They have clear deadlines and there are clear consequences for missing those deadlines. These tasks take priority over other tasks. Some examples of Quadrant 1 tasks: you are assigned a last-minute deadline, you get an urgent email from a client, you must pick up your sick child from school. They often come from external factors, and if they are the sole focus of your day (or week) they can lead to burnout and high stress levels. We should not spend all day on Quadrant 1 tasks, just like we should not spend all day on Quadrant 4 tasks.
Quadrant 2: Not Urgent But Important – Schedule it: These are tasks that are not urgent but are important. They help you achieve your long-term goals. These tasks may not have deadlines so they risk being put off for quadrant one tasks. These tasks may never get completed if not scheduled, especially for individuals with ADHD, and that has the greatest negative impact on your long-term effectiveness and on reaching your goals. Some examples are professional networking, exercise & meditation routines, and planning for short-term projects. This quadrant is where you focus on opportunities and growth. By consistently focusing on quadrant two you are working towards accomplishing meaningful life goals and reducing the number of quadrant one issues because you are planning ahead.
Quadrant 3: Urgent & Not Important – Delegate it: These are tasks that should be automated or delegated to someone else. These tasks are generally busy work. They do not move you towards your goals. Oftentimes these unimportant tasks seem urgent because they are based on assumed deadlines or priorities belonging to someone else. These tasks are often tricky because they can appear to be quadrant one tasks, but they are distractions, other people’s responsibilities. Examples are checking your phone immediately when you receive a notification, grocery shopping, certain meetings. Try checking your phone only at specific intervals during the day, getting your groceries delivered, or having someone else take notes at the meeting. If these tasks cannot be delegated, make sure to keep them time-bound and limited.
Quadrant 4: Not Urgent & Not Important – Delete it: These are tasks that don’t need to be on your list. These activities are wasting your time, from watching TV for hours to mindlessly scrolling social media. These tasks often drain your battery. Take them out of your life. This does not mean taking leisure out of your life, but rather making leisure intentional so that it is enjoyable and charges your battery.
I personally use The Eisenhower Matrix every time I feel my anxiety popping up and my inner critic telling me that I need to be afraid of failing or that I should be worried about a negative outcome. This method allows me to frame the manufactured emergency of the moment with logic. It is a simple concept, and easy to picture in my mind. The only quadrant I need to think about is Quadrant 1, the urgent and important one. Does the thing I’m worrying about belong in that quadrant? No? Then I don’t have to think about it now. FREE WORKSHEET How to Use the Eisenhower Matrix When Every Task is
The Einsenhower Matrix
| Urgent | Not Urgent | |
| Important | Quadrant 1
● ● ● ● |
Quadrant 2
● ● ● ● |
| Not Important | Quadrant 3
● ● ● ● |
Quadrant 4
● ● ● ● |