Eisenhower’s Matrix

Cut Through the Noise and Get Unstuck

Whether you call it Eisenhower’s Matrix or Steve Covey’s Time Management Matrix doesn’t matter.

What matters is that this deceptively simple 2 x 2 matrix can get you unstuck and on track to long-term success.

Our lives are filled with noise. Sometimes the noise is in our head.

Sometimes the noise in our environment smashes and derails our attempts to string two or more linked thoughts together. Anyone who has been a parent knows where I’m coming from.

Let’s get started tuning the noise out.

Matrix Cells

Creating an Eisenhower Matrix on the fly is as simple as drawing a cross on a piece of paper.

Important and Not Important form the two cells of the Y-axis.

Urgent and Not Urgent form the two cells of the X-axis.

For folks who like something a bit neater or prettier, you can email me at [email protected] and I will send you my Eisenhower Matrix form.

Covey’s Quadrant I: Urgent x Important—DO NOW

These are your fires.

In here, rest your crises, deadlines due within 10 working days, and anything that has consequences if you do not take immediate action.

Think about the robot in Lost in Space (the 1960s TV series) declaring, “Warning! Danger! Will Robinson!”

In the future, try to spend as little time as possible in this quadrant.

Realistically, when you start to use Eisenhower’s Matrix, this quadrant is where you will begin.

You will spend a fair amount of time here until you impose control.

Don’t despair. You are getting out of the tunnel and not dancing with an oncoming train.

Covey’s Quadrant II: Not Urgent x Important—SCHEDULE [Supports Long-Term Goals]

Ideally, this is where you want to spend the majority of your time.

The things that go into this quadrant are the ones that we are so often guilty of putting off until “tomorrow.” And then they move to Quadrant I. ??

In here, you will put your mission-critical items, long-term projects, work that needs to be scheduled, and strategic planning.

Covey’s Quadrant III: Urgent x Not Important—DELEGATE

Many of us are detail-fixated a.k.a. control freaks.

This quadrant provides an excellent way to identify where we are holding onto doing something so tightly that our company’s growth is strangled.

In this cell, identify the things that do not require your SPECIFIC skills. Your insights here will provide opportunities to develop your team members.

Delegating these activities to your staff allows you to spend more time ON the business of your business instead of IN the business.

Covey’s Quadrant IV: Not Urgent x Not Important—DELETE or DO LATER

This is the realm of squirrels and rabbit holes.

This is the home of distractions. Things like social media scrolling, gossip, and other activities that may be unique to your workplaces.

Tasks that should be eliminated live here, as well. As you map your processes, you will discover activities that no longer provide value. This cell is a great place to capture your thoughts about these activities.

Busywork. You know the stuff that you have to do or that your staff does to show that they deserve their paychecks. These are the activities that do not bring value to your customers, to your staff, or to you.

How to Use the Matrix

Simple does not mean easy or valueless. This is not a group exercise. Individual perspectives matter.

There is no “1 Right Way.” This is the process I’ve found that works best for the greatest number of people.

My recommendation

1. Block out an hour on your calendar for two different days. Ideally, these days will be next to each other.
2. Suspend all judgment. This is a brain dump. You are barfing on the document.
3. This is not a linear exercise where you fill in Quadrant I and move in sequence through Quadrant IV. You will find yourself bouncing between cells. At this point do not move anything to a different cell. If you feel something belongs in a different cell, put it in there.
4. After you feel wrung out. Take a break. Take a walk.
5. When you return, capture the items and thoughts that percolated into your consciousness during the break.
6. Put the document aside until the next day.
7. Create a clean matrix.
8. Review yesterday’s matrix. After sleeping, do you have anything to add?
9. Identify duplicate items and move them into a single quadrant.
10. Create an action plan to eliminate Quadrant IV items.
11. Create an action plan to pass Quadrant III skills to your workforce.
12. Create an action plan to put out fires in Quadrant I.
13. Put your action plans to work.

Cautions

1. Keep each matrix. You want to recognize how far you’ve come.
2. Don’t get hung up on the formatting. One of my clients used Excel to create 4 columns. Each column represented one cell. This way there was no fussing over visual balance or trying to stuff 3 pounds into the one-pound sack.
3. Be flexible. As you work with the matrix you may discover that things migrate between cells.

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No Magic. No BS. Just Know-How.

As a Process Improvement Expert and Coach, I help manufacturers, professional service firms, and nonprofits develop the systems and processes to run their businesses sustainably and profitably.

Your company is unique, and so are the strategies and action plans I develop for you using my proprietary system.

Looking for sustainable bottom-line results? Message me to get on the road to sustainable profitability. We’ll schedule a brief chat.

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