Priority Matrix
The Priority Matrix is a productivity and time management planner designed to help you organize tasks by categorizing those items according to their urgency and importance.
How Do You Use the Priority Matrix?
First Quadrant (upper left): urgent and important
Do these tasks first
These are the items that demand your action right away.
Items in this quadrant typically include crises and issues with deadlines.
Second Quadrant (upper right): important, but not urgent
Decide on when to do these tasks
These are essential issues, but they’re not urgent and therefore don’t require your immediate action. These are items you’ll want to schedule work for a later time.
These are typically tasks or projects that can help you personally or professionally achieve a long-term goal.
Third Quadrant (lower left): not important, but urgent
These are urgent items that pop up and demand immediate attention. However, since they don’t necessarily require your time, these tasks can be assigned to someone else and/or outsourced.
Fourth Quadrant (lower right): neither important nor urgent
These items in your Eisenhower Matrix are not essential or urgent, so you can, in most cases, erase them from your list.
These tasks are okay if you have time or need a break from the more important and more urgent items, but they should not displace them on your list of priorities.