Let the Eisenhower Matrix increase your productivity so you can achieve your goals in less time. The Monthly Schedule Template is a flexible tool for long-term planning. It allows you to organize events, projects, and personal activities. You can easily adjust to accommodate changing priorities, unforeseen events, or long-term goals. It is a powerful tool for teams to align on priorities and ensure that everyone is focused on the right tasks.
Todoist makes it easy to sort your tasks into each quadrant of the matrix so you know exactly what to prioritize. This is where tasks that do not add to the project or goals can go. Tasks in this quadrant can often be eliminated, or put off until there is time to complete them. A lot of the items in this quadrant are ultimately time-wasters. Arrange the tasks from your daily standups and weekly planners into a single master list with a handy template—the Eisenhower productivity matrix. With this strategy, you’ll address quadrant four before moving on to quadrants one, two, and three.
Start with our Eisenhower Matrix template
The template makes it easy to decide how to deal with each task—so you don’t have to worry about which to-do’s to tackle first. It gives you a logical process and roadmap to follow whenever you have a long list of tasks and need to prioritize your to-do list. If you ever feel like you’re always busy every day but don’t make progress on your projects or goals, this is the perfect tool for you. It’s a proven method used to increase productivity and decrease the stress of an overwhelming workload. Formatted to be editable and printable, this Eisenhower Decision Matrix template will help you customize the prioritization of your workload. Use the sample text as a guide to determine which tasks belong in which quadrant.
- These tasks are often based on expectations set by others and do not move you closer to your long-term goals.
- Most tasks will likely fall in the second quadrant, Schedule it, because they require planning.
- These are the visible issues that pop up and demand your attention NOW.
- When something is urgent, it must be done now, and there are clear consequences if you don’t complete these tasks within a certain timeline.
- Use this blank Eisenhower Matrix template for Microsoft Word and Google Docs to customize your daily, weekly, and monthly task lists.
To keep your important tasks top-of-mind, add your Urgent & Important and Important & Not Urgent filters to your favorites. They’ll show up at the top of your navigation menu for easy access. If you have a lot of tasks, you can quickly assign labels to multiple tasks at the same time.
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Learn how to create a customized project schedule template in Asana. Learn how to keep a project on track—and ensure success—by creating a project timeline template. Standardize your project process with a waterfall project management template. Break your project into sequential phases that map to your end goal. You can use an Eisenhower Matrix template whenever you want to prioritize your to-do list.
Get all eyes on the Eisenhower matrix—and more—with a communal whiteboard from FigJam. To get a better understanding of what tasks you may place in each quadrant of your Eisenhower Matrix, we’ve gone ahead and provided some examples for you here. As you skim through your to-do list, assess what items you’ve written down that don’t need to be there. Incorporate some of the key elements of this template to streamline your workflow. Milestone charts highlight significant moments in your workflow. Create a critical path method template to visualize everything that needs to be done in order to reach your end goal.
Quadrant 1: Urgent & Important
You can make multiple matrices, but limiting your task list to necessary action items will ensure you’re beginning the prioritization process with no time to waste. Quadrant three is the “delegate” quadrant, and this is where you’ll place any tasks that are urgent but not important. These tasks must be completed now, but they don’t affect your long-term goals. Stephen Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, took Eisenhower’s words and used them to develop the now-popular task management tool known as the Eisenhower Matrix.
Timelines help product managers, project managers, and team members tell visual stories about progress and obstacles. Timelines enable teams to see at a glance what happened before, what progress is happening now, and what needs tackling in the future. Projects or products with specific purpose or deliverables should be based on a timeline to be successful. Use the timeline as a shared reference for start dates, end dates, and milestones. You can easily visualize tasks in each quadrant of the matrix, adding images, videos, or documents to keep track of everything in one place. For a dynamic overview, you can even integrate Jira cards as action items to keep track of the current status of any task.
T-shaped matrix
Use our template to prepare an RFP, then organize and evaluate the responses—all in the same place—so you can pick the best vendor for the job. Learn how creating a RAID log template in Asana can help you proactively identify and mitigate project risks. A premortem is a brainstorming tactic your team uses to anticipate different ways a project can fail. Empower your people to go above and beyond with a flexible platform designed to match the needs of your team — and adapt as those needs change. We’ve compiled the largest collection of free what are the 2 axes in the eisenhower boxs that are unique, available in multiple formats, and don’t require contact data to use.
Quadrant 2 is where “deep work” happens because you are largely freed of pressing distractions. Important matters, on the other hand, are those that contribute to long-term goals and life values. When you focus on important matters you manage your time, energy, and attention rather than mindlessly expending these resources.
tips for prioritizing your tasks
Manage deployments, order equipment, and connect teams—without compromising security. Create a project estimation template to accurately scope project resources and align on project expectations.
Overthinking can turn this easy-to-use tool into a procrastination device. Open this template and add content to customize this Eisenhower matrix to your use case. Join millions of people who organize work and life with Todoist. Todoist is simple to use yet flexible enough to fit whichever workflow you settle on.
How to use an Eisenhower matrix?
When teams have clarity into the work getting done, there’s no telling how much more they can accomplish in the same amount of time. This Eisenhower Matrix template is great for when you don’t have to take action but still want a space to record your thoughts and ideas for later. Once you write them down, you can revisit them whenever is best for you. The Eisenhower Matrix method used by US President Dwight D. Eisenhower is based on the task evaluation using the criteria important/unimportant and urgent/not urgent. From planning a vacation to juggling household chores, the Eisenhower Matrix is versatile enough for personal use. Knowing what to focus on makes tackling your to-do list less overwhelming.