How to Stop Putting Things Off Using the Eisenhower Matrix?

The Eisenhower matrix also called the "urgent-important matrix," is a simple tool for making decisions that help you organize your to-do list based on how important and how quickly it needs to be done. The matrix has four parts, or quadrants, which are:

Important and Urgent

Your "important and urgent" list is in the first quadrant. These are tasks that need to be done right away and are very important. Focus on getting these things done first.

In this first quadrant, there are two kinds of tasks: ones you couldn't see coming and ones you put off. As you make your list, think about what you put off until the last minute and how you can avoid doing that in the future.

One way to reduce stress in the future is to build extra time into your schedule. This will help you deal with tasks that come up out of the blue and give you a cushion for work that's fallen behind.

Important but not urgent

The second quadrant is for things that are important but don't need to be done right away. In other words, you need to do them at some point, but you don't have to do them right away.

These tasks help you reach your goals and finish important work, but most people don't do them because they don't have to be done right away.

To keep from putting things off, plan when you will do each task. Set clear deadlines and put these things on your calendar. Make sure you give yourself enough time to do them well, with some extra time in case something comes up.

Urgent but not important

Many people get stuck in Quadrant 3. This is the list of things that are urgent but not important. Most of the time, these are tasks that keep you from working on your own goals or make you focus on helping others reach theirs. Most of the time, other people give you tasks in this quadrant. For instance, a coworker could ask you to look over a report that is due in a few hours.

Try to do as little as possible from this list. If you can, politely decline these tasks or give them to someone else. For everything else, you might want to set aside regular time to deal with other people's problems.

Not important, not urgent

The things in Quadrant 4 have the least importance. These are the tasks that are neither important nor urgent. At the end of the day, anything left on this list is just a distraction, so the best thing to do with these tasks is to either take them off your list of priorities or put them off until later. The idea is to write down all of the things you have to do and put them in the right quadrant.

Using the Eisenhower matrix to figure out what to do

Every quadrant has a different level of importance. As you figure out which tasks or activities are important, urgent, or both, you can decide how to deal with them.

The Eisenhower decision matrix is great because it is easy to use and put to good use. But there are some best ways to use it to get the most out of it.

Color-code your matrix

By giving each quadrant a different color based on how important it is, you can quickly see what's next on your list. You can change the colors of your matrix or just use the simple stoplight method.

Red: Important and urgent things to do (do immediately) Yellow: Not urgent, but important (decide when) Green: Urgent, not important (delegate) Each quadrant can have no more than 10 items

Having too many things to do on your list can make it hard to get your work done on time. Limit each quadrant to no more than 10 items. This will keep you from getting stuck on a task and help you stay on schedule. Focus on five to seven tasks in each category as a good rule of thumb. Make separate lists of things to do for work and for yourself.

Who says that you can only have one Eisenhower matrix? If you have a long list of things to do or like to keep your priorities separate, you might want to keep your personal and professional to-do lists separate. Make one matrix for work and one for your personal life.

Making several visuals can help you figure out how you're spending your time and make sure nothing gets lost.

Get rid of things and then improve them.

When you have less to do, it's easier to make the most of your time. When making your lists of things to do, try to get rid of unimportant tasks. Look for tasks that you can give to someone else or get rid of altogether. This step will make everything else on your list easier to do.

Using a program based on the Eisenhower matrix

If you do not wish to do put in all that effort, you can use an eisenhower matrix app to organize and prioritize your tasks, projects, and goals. With this kind of app, you can put important and urgent tasks like client calls, emails, project timelines, etc. at the top of your list and get everything done on time. This is a great way to set goals because it helps you see what you want to achieve and holds you accountable for achieving them.

Important vs. urgent activities

Understanding the difference between "urgent" and "important" tasks is at the heart of the Eisenhower matrix. Important tasks help you reach your goals and are in line with your values. They tend to look at the long term and may not have results right away. This makes it easy to put them aside for more important tasks in the short term.

Tasks that are urgent need to be done right away because they are time-sensitive. Sometimes we put off important tasks for so long that they become urgent and we have to rush to finish them on time, which causes stress and anxiety.

One of the biggest ways we waste time and don't get as much done as we could is by focusing too much on urgent tasks and not enough on the important ones. This work cycle puts you in a reactive mode where you are always putting out fires and responding to the "next urgent thing." By figuring out what is important and what is urgent, you can start to work more proactively.