EISENHOWER MATRIX AS A MANAGEMENT TOOL

Abstract-
This paper proposes a tool resulting from the merging of the Eisenhower matrix to strengthen the prioritization of
actions for managers. An Eisenhower matrix is designed and priorities are affected to corresponding quadrant, based on
the Priority Quotient (PQ) results in management. This Index is about designing easier readable tool directly usable by
the managers to undertake their actions, saving time and investment.

INTRODUCTION-
The Eisenhower Matrix or Eisenhower Decision Matrix, is named after Dwight David Eisenhower, an American army
general during World War II, who served as the 34th President of the United States the from 1953 to 19611 . At the
beginning of is presidential mandate, facing the USA economic and politic intern and foreign orientations, he declares
during a conference with his cabinet counselors the following: "I have two kinds of problems: the urgent and the
important. The urgent are not important, and the important are never urgent" . From then, the Eisenhower Method
emerged, classifying and planning the tasks relatively to their Urgency and their Importance in four descending priorities
as follow

 "Important" and "Urgent" tasks: they receive the highest priority level and should be complete as soon as
possible. They are crisis to be solved immediately.

 "Important", but "Not Urgent" tasks: these are the long-term goals and tasks, because they are important, but
do not have a firm deadline yet. They should be scheduled in a timely manner and done later.

 "Not Important", but "Urgent" tasks: these tasks can be transferred or delegated to other professionals, because
they are trivial than the two precedents.

 "Not Important" and "Not Urgent" tasks: they are most distractive and should be eliminated or dumped,
because they could be a complete waste of time.

The matrix revolves around management, representing the method is a two times two squared box named the
Eisenhower Box Its representations vary from an activity to another with the same background idea and the good
time management and prioritizing. That is why it is also known as the Time Management Matrix .
What is the Eisenhower Matrix?

‍“I have two kinds of problems, the urgent and the important. The urgent are not important, and the important are never
urgent.”

In the simplest terms, the Eisenhower Matrix is a guideline for effective decision making. Its brilliance lies in learning to
differentiate which tasks are important and which are urgent. As Vader said, focus on: “What can I do today, to make tomorrow
easier for myself which help your life in day to day management.

The Matrix allows you to make long-term strategic plans. You learn how to focus on the bigger picture instead of tasks that
seem urgent but have no overarching benefit for the project.

How the Eisenhower Matrix Works

“Productivity need not be about work, or maximizing output or whatever. There are lots of ways to be productive. To me,
productivity is mostly a matter of recognizing that time is what we have.”

Stop thinking about speed, and start thinking about purpose. To begin making truly smarter, more conscious choices when it
comes to project tasks, you need to know the difference between important and urgent.

The Important - One way to differentiate between important and unimportant tasks is by asking: “Will the project suffer if this
task isn’t done?” Important tasks are those with long-lasting consequences or results. If others’ work depends on its
completion, or it has a major impact on the project, the task mustn’t be skipped.
The Urgent - Urgency focuses on time and efficiency. These are tasks with clear deadlines. Whether something is urgent or not
will depend on various circumstances (depending on what the project entails). However, keep in mind that your schedule’s
flexibility and project goals also play a role.

Once you figure out the urgency/importance difference, the second step is sorting your tasks into four groups according to the
following:
 The IMPORTANT and URGENT (DO)
Green illustrated this with a simple example of your house being on fire. It’s something you NEED to do right away.
Less catastrophically speaking, these tasks are usually the ones we leave until the last minute or come from unforeseen
circumstances.
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 The IMPORTANT but NOT URGENT (DECIDE)
Another simple example would be long-term personal and professional goals, such as career advancement, writing a
book, or exercising (unless there is a serious health issue, in which case, it’s urgent). The general rule for this group is to
schedule time to work on these tasks. Putting them off will just bump them up until they become urgent, or never
addressed.
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 The UNIMPORTANT but URGENT (DELEGATE)
These can be smaller, menial, everyday tasks, such as grocery shopping, paying bills, or going through email. You can
easily delegate or automate them. Think of parents who send their kids to the store for eggs and milk while they cook
lunch. Or in our case, holding a project update meeting, for example. If you have more important work, assigning
someone just as informed to hold the meeting will help in the long run.
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 The UNIMPORTANT and NOT URGENT (DELETE)
Activities or tasks that fall into this category are usually distractions. For example, redesigning the website page
because the color scheme is off. It’s unimportant and not urgent as it won’t affect customer retention.
HOW EISENHOWER MATRIX IS IMPORTANT IN MANAGEMENT.

Eisenhower Matrix helps you improve your time management skills. Applying this principle in your day to day life
enables you to decide what to do and what not to do by setting priorities. Most people in top senior positions can apply
the Eisenhower Matrix to carry out some tasks and delegate other activities to their employees, making them involved in
the activities.

Eisenhower’s Matrix is applicable in both personal and professional life. It helps you manage your time by organizing and
prioritizing your day to day activities and helps to complete your management task.

It enhances self-awareness and improves self-analysis. Applying Eisenhower more frequently helps you see the variation
of the importance of activities. It, therefore, enhances decision making. This method will improve the productivity of
both your company and your personal life.

Eisenhower Matrix is a priceless skill and helps one improve productivity by;

 Learning how to prioritize tasks effectively.

 Determine which problems are urgent and essential hence allocating the required time where it’s needed most.
 To help you manage your work effectively, have in mind that urgency concerns time while importance depends on
the choice
 Apply Eisenhower Matrix in the morning before starting any activity
 Perform and complete each task individually
 Delegate non-important tasks but urgent tasks to junior staff

METHODOLOGY—

Implementing the Eisenhower Matrix

Methods in implementing the Eisenhower Matrix:

1. Labels

Create the @important & @urgent labels. Assign them to your task appropriately in these four quadrants;

 @urgent & @important label applies to all tasks that need to be done immediately by yourself.
 The label of @important is assigned to tasks with a due date and requires your attention.
 Tasks relegated or delegated applies the label of @urgent.
 No addition of labels to tasks which you can delete or drop.

After labelling the important/urgent tasks, come up with the below 4 filters corresponding each quadrant.

 The urgent & important, the filter query will be @urgent & @important
 Important & not urgent bearing a filter query of @important & !@urgent
 Urgent & unimportant should have a filter query: @urgent & !@important
 Unimportant & not urgent having a filter query: !@important & !@urgent
 You can also create a single Eisenhower filter with the query: !@important & !@urgent, @urgent & !@important,
@urgent & @important and @important & !@urgent. Then, combine them together.
Assigning them to your tasks require you to type @ on the field of your to-do things. It will then provide you with a
list of labels you created recently to select.

2. Use of priority levels

There are Four priority levels created to match each of the four Eisenhower Matrix quadrants. The levels include:

 Priority level 1= urgent & important

 Priority level 2= not urgent & important
 Priority level 3= urgent & not important
 Priority level 4= not urgent & not important

3. Rebalancing your quadrants

Quadrant 2 is the most important one, and shifting more time to it is the aim of all the rebalancing. If you are stuck,
determine your own desired outcomes, which tasks are urgent and essential, and organize them in quadrants.
If you spend your time on quadrant one, you can target to prevent problems and anticipate by investing time in
planning. You can start by prioritizing your deadlines and current goals by creating a weekly or monthly plan.
If time was wasted on quadrant 3, minimize the time used on the tasks.

Do it by reducing the functions through a well-laid procedure. Time wasted on quadrant 4 creates a big stuck and
causes a lot of time wastage. You can rebalance it by taking time to track to identify the most significant tasks that
cause time wastage and eliminate or minimize them.

CONCLUSION

The Eisenhower Matrix is a powerful tool. It is a method tailored for those who have goals they never seem to get to
because there aren’t enough hours in the day. With the Matrix, you reevaluate your priorities, and as both Green and
Vaden emphasize, learn how to focus on what is important over fake urgency. Say goodbye to putting out fires as they
come up, and stretching yourself thin on projects. Placing the bigger picture in the foreground, the Eisenhower Matrix
proves that the work or tasks within the organization as well as your daily life tasks circulate around the Eisenhower
matrix.
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