Eisenhower Matrix: quick goal setting and control of current affairs.

Good afternoon, blog readers, your decision!

In this article I want to talk about the problem of an overloaded task list, which almost every modern person encounters. How is it shown? The fact is that we plan to complete many different tasks during the day or during the week, and at the end of this period we realize that we have not accomplished anything.

Why does this happen? Why are we overloaded and don't have time to do what we planned?

Most often this is due to the fact that our planning is unrealistic. We overload our list of tasks, we need to cross something off, but the question arises: “How can we cross something off if we only write down the necessary things on it?”

Specific prioritization techniques can help us determine what needs to be done first, what we can put off, or not do at all.

One of the simplest and most effective methods for determining priorities is the Eisenhower matrix. The idea belongs to US President Dwight Eisenhower. She gained fame after Stephen Covey wrote about her in his book “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.”

Constantly being busy is a form of laziness, lazy thinking and indiscriminate action.
Tim Ferriss

The Eisenhower Matrix is ​​based on the idea that 20% of our efforts produce 80% of the results. Eisenhower perfected this principle.

The Eisenhower matrix is ​​a square divided by two intersecting axes into 4 sectors or quadrants.
The vertical axis is “importance”, the horizontal axis is “urgency”.
Thus, we get 4 sectors:
sector A - “urgent and important”
sector B - “not urgent, but important”
sector C - “urgent, but not important”
sector D - “not urgent, not important”

Sector A: important, urgent

Brings together things that need to be done first. They cannot tolerate delay; it will be too late to do it tomorrow. The regular appearance of such things in our task list is, as a rule, a consequence of poor planning, disorganization, procrastination, etc. Ideal planning is a situation of empty quadrant A.

Examples of quadrant A cases:

• loan payment
• an unscheduled visit to the doctor when something already hurts a lot
• Call a plumber to repair a leaking pipe
• laptop repair

Sector B: important, not urgent

This sector brings together matters that directly affect your personal effectiveness. The main difference between these cases and Quadrant A cases is the lack of urgency. This allows you to approach solving such problems more thoughtfully, which allows you to achieve greater results and efficiency. The tasks of sector B should mainly consist of our to-do list for the day. You also need to remember that the affairs of sector B, if they are not given timely attention and time, can move to sector A.

Examples of quadrant B cases:

• training, advanced training, courses and seminars, trainings
• scheduled report
• sports
• quality rest
• scheduled visit to the doctor (dispensary examination, preventive examinations)

Sector C: not important, urgent

Things that do not bring you closer to your goal, but they must be done. The main mistake when working with the matrix is ​​not to confuse the affairs of sectors A and C, otherwise a situation will arise where you are spinning like a squirrel in a wheel, but completed tasks do not bring you closer to your intended goal, and important tasks remain unresolved.

Examples of Sector C cases:

• checking email
• current calls
• meetings
• household chores (house cleaning)
• meetings imposed by someone

Sector D: not important, not urgent

The sector brings together things that waste our time and bring us no benefit at all. In other words, they consumed time. But these tasks have great appeal for us, they are easy to complete, they allow us to have a good time and relax. Therefore, it is very difficult to resist them, but it must be done.

• surf social networks
• watching TV
• chatting with colleagues

How can a matrix be useful in practice? There are two possible ways to use the Eisenhower matrix:

1. for planning
   Often we do all the urgent, but unimportant things, and we put off the important and non-urgent things further and further. If we start planning our time and tasks using the Eisenhower Matrix, we can spend more time on important things that will bring us closer to our goals, and eliminate tasks that take up time, effort, energy and rarely lead to our goals. How to use the matrix for planning, read this article below.
2. to evaluate your effectiveness
   The Eisenhower Matrix clearly shows what tasks you perform. This analysis can be carried out at the end of the week or month. Regularly reviewing the tasks you have been busy with over a period of time will improve your personal effectiveness.

What does it look like?

1. Write down the things you completed during the day on a sheet of paper.
2. Distribute what you have done into four sectors, indicating the time spent.
3. Calculate how time and number of tasks were distributed across sectors.
4. Interpretation of the result:
   sector A
   If sector A has grown, it means you are not in control of your life. you are not engaged in strategic planning, you do not know how to distribute the workload among employees and delegate responsibilities.
   sector B
   If sector B is the most filled with things to do, then you devote enough time to achieving your goals and know how to concentrate on the main thing.
   sector C
   An increase in the affairs of sector C shows your lack of intended goals and plans. you waste your time on unimportant tasks.
   sector D
   The question arises: “What are you paid for?”, and on a personal level, you are wasting your time.

The main difficulty in using the Eisenhower matrix is ​​the difficulty of determining the importance of a task. We often think that all tasks are important. how to determine the true importance of a task. How can you single out the really important tasks from all the tasks?

This is where the “Franklin method” comes in handy: what is important is what corresponds to the main goals of my life.

The main idea is that before you set priorities, you need to clearly define your goals for a certain period.
After this, we will supplement the Eisenhower matrix, placing our goals in its center. What happens now? Now the importance of all tasks for the day will be assessed in relation to the set goal.

The importance of the task is distinguished by the answer to 3 questions:

1. What happens if I don't do this today?
2. Can someone do this for me?
3. Is this task important to achieving your goal?

For example, your goal is “to pay off all loans and debts within a year.” We evaluate the importance of each task of the matrix from the point of view of whether it will help achieve the goal.

Practical implementation. Algorithm for using a matrix for daily planning

1. Define your goals. See if your goals are aligned. From the list of your goals, select 1-3 goals that are of higher priority for this period. It is these goals that will serve as a beacon for you, which you need to focus on when classifying tasks into sectors.
2. Compose (day, week, month). Time management professionals advise planning your vacation as well.
3. Break it down.
4. Assessing priorities. Distribute tasks across sectors, determining the importance of the task based on the goals set. Draw the sheet into 4 quadrants and fill the matrix with tasks. If you are not inspired by the idea of ​​drawing quadrants every day, you can mark your priorities with the letters: A, B, C and D. We add marks to your list next to each task.
   Three traffic light colors can be used for priorities: red (quadrant A), green (quadrant B) and yellow (quadrant C).
5. Fulfillment of assigned tasks:

• Important and urgent matters are completed first. The day should begin with these things.
• After that, we move on to matters that are important, but not urgent. Our main time and attention should be focused on the affairs of this sector
• only then move on to other matters.

Before you begin any task, first ask yourself the question “Should I do this?”, “Can someone else do this?”
Quadrant C tasks, which are usually of a routine nature and do not advance you towards your goal, are recommended to be delegated or not done at all.

6. Monitoring the execution of the plan
At this stage, analyze the implementation of the planned plan. Calculate in each quadrant of the matrix how many tasks were completed per day and how much time was spent on their implementation. Evaluate your effectiveness.

The more time you spend on Quadrant B tasks, the more effective you become and the faster you achieve your goals.

Move uncompleted tasks to the list for the next day. If you've put off a task more than three times, think about whether it should be done at all. Most likely, you will get along just fine without it! Cross these things off your list or do them immediately.

As you can see, the Eisenhower Matrix is ​​a simple working tool that facilitates planning and helps with ongoing monitoring and analysis of your activities. Leave your e-mail in the form at the end of the article and download the daily planning template using the Eisenhower Matrix. The template was created in two formats: in an Excel spreadsheet and as a note template for Evernote.

To add a note with a template to your Evernote account, you need to right-click on the note in your Evernote account and select “Copy to Notepad” from the drop-down menu. Then select your notepad and click “Copy”. Now you can make any changes to the template.
If you'll be using the matrix often, make the note template a shortcut! This will speed up the search for notes and save your time!
Be sure to implement priorities into your case management system!

As soon as you learn to correctly distribute tasks within the Eisenhower matrix, you will have a considerable amount of extra time and, most importantly, you will quickly reach your goal.

Fill your every day with meaning and it will be YOUR DECISION!

November 6, 2016

Greetings! Have you ever scolded yourself in the evening for the fact that you managed to accomplish offensively little during the day? Were you constantly busy, but truly important and urgent matters gradually “crept” to tomorrow?

Personally, I encountered this problem regularly. By the evening I was tired as a dog, and in fact there were mountains of undone work, the kitchen was a mess and the rent had not been paid on time.
I was terribly angry, but for some reason I continued to often waste time on nonsense, finishing all important tasks hastily and at the last moment (and, as a rule, late at night).

All this disgrace continued for quite a long time. Until I started using a simple, convenient and visual tool. In my opinion, this is one of the most effective ways to clear your brain once and for all. And finally put things in order.

Meet the Eisenhower Matrix as a priority setting tool.

The Matrix was invented by the thirty-fourth President of the United States, Dwight David Eisenhower (he served as President from 1953 to 1961).

The politician developed a universal scheme that helped him classify and sort a bunch of daily tasks. I think the US President had plenty of them. At one point, Eisenhower made a paradoxical conclusion:

Urgent things are rarely important, and important things are rarely urgent

By the way, the Eisenhower matrix is ​​highly recommended by my beloved Stephen Covey in the book “Focus on the main things”. I recommend downloading and studying.

The essence of the Eisenhower matrix

The problem with most modern people is the inability to prioritize when planning. We prefer to do what we like first, leaving unpleasant but important things for later. The result is time pressure, stress and... syndrome.

The technology from the president instantly puts everything into order.

It looks like four quadrants with two axes. The matrix is ​​divided vertically by urgency (“urgent” and “not urgent”), and vertically by importance (“important” and “not important”).
At the same time, the author of the theory classifies as “urgent” what cannot be postponed. And the “important” ones are tasks on the solution of which a full, successful and emotional life depends. And as my experience shows, all everyday life can be attributed to one of the quadrants.

Quadrant A. Important and urgent matters

Proper planning always leaves this box empty. Things recorded in sector A are a sign of disorganization and incorrect prioritization. “Important and urgent” means force majeure, time pressure and emergency.

Example of cases from sector A:

• Cramming a subject on the last night before the exam
• Calling a plumber due to a burst pipe
• Urgent call to a client who sent money to the wrong details
• Acute toothache and urgent visit to the dentist

Moreover, most of this entire list could have been avoided. Start cramming a little every day a week before the exam. Or visit the dentist once every six months for a preventive examination. Do you agree?

Quadrant B. Important but not urgent matters

The highest priority and promising tasks are entered into sector B - this is our most valuable square. It is precisely these things that, ideally, should consist of the “To Do” list for the day. Statistically, those who focus on the B quadrant achieve better results and at the same time live a rich and happy life.

The lack of urgency allows you to solve problems thoughtfully and constructively. But if you relax, a lot of things from zone B will quickly “crawl” into sector A.

Example of tasks from sector B:

• Fill out utility bills
• Buy groceries for the week
• Write a business trip report
• Go to the gym for a workout
• Make an appointment with a dentist
• Take a photo for your garage pass

Quadrant C. Urgent but not important tasks

90% of such tasks distract from achieving important goals, reduce efficiency and interfere with concentration. But you still need to do them (or not – it’s up to you to decide).

Example of tasks from sector C:

• Happy birthday to a distant and very talkative relative
• Go to an alumni meeting (you don’t want to go, but it’s inconvenient to refuse)
• Instantly deliver papers to the other end of town at the request of a colleague

The contents from sector C should either not be done at all, or they should be started after fully working through the tasks from list B.

Quadrant D. Not urgent or important matters

D should only contain things that do not affect our quality of life. Have you already guessed what we're talking about? Well, of course, about “time wasters”: computer games, reading comments on social networks, talking “about nothing” on the phone, aimless shopping, solving crosswords. Things from the D-zone should only be completed after all other categories are empty!

1. Start your day by reminding yourself of your main long-term goal. This is something like a beacon to which you need to focus when filling out the Eisenhower matrix. For example, the goal: “in five years.” And evaluate each point in the matrix from the position: “Will completing this task help me achieve my goal or not?”
2. If you don't like the idea of ​​drawing squares every day, you can simply mark things with the letters A, B, C and D in your diary
3. Perform all current tasks exactly in the sequence in which they are listed above: A, B, C and D. Only then will you be able to keep up with everything and avoid “blockages” and “rush jobs”. With the right approach, there will even be time left for nonsense from quadrant D
4. Do not use things from the fourth sector to relax while working! Practice shows that social networks and “shooting games” are serious distractions and do not allow you to fully relax

One important thing I was unhappy with about the Eisenhower Matrix was that I didn't know how to prioritize tasks from different areas. Everything about the work is more or less clear (although there are some nuances). But life is not limited to “work feats”: there is also health, personal development, family and communication with friends.

To put it very briefly, my problem could be formulated as follows: “What is more important - to learn 10 new English words or to do 10 abdominal exercises?”

For myself, I solved the problem as follows. He highlighted all the important areas of life: work, health, personal development, communications, household affairs. You can add something else to this list: self-care (for girls), study (for students) or spiritual practices (for fans of esotericism).

All that remains is to ensure that matters from each area are included in the matrix.

This is what my sector B looks like:

• Finalize the second part of the project for the customer (“work”)
• 3 km in the pool (“health”)
• Take 2 video lessons on learning business English (“personal development”)
• Buy groceries and cook dinner (“hozdela”)
• Meet with a former classmate who came to town for one day (“communications”). By the way, this item can be safely placed in sector C “On, but not important”

What do I classify as sector D? Watching your favorite TV series, for example, or having a beer with friends at a sports bar.

It is clear that this is a very simplified example and the number of points in sector B is much greater. But this approach allows you to live a full life, and not “burn at work” for days. Tested for yourself!

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You can easily get confused in the endless stream of everyday affairs, because every day there are more and more of them. Yesterday's unfinished tasks become today's, and what we did not have time to do today is automatically transferred to tomorrow. As a result, so many things can accumulate that you can’t figure out what has been done, what is in progress, and what is still waiting in the wings.

Such or detailed situations often occur among people who do not pay due attention to the process of planning their activities. Naturally, skills are not taught at school, and many parents and other people who act as educators in the process of our development often themselves do not really know how to plan their activities, although this is not at all difficult. It’s just that due attention is not paid to this.

However, today there are many excellent planning techniques that allow you to learn how to rationally use your time resource and extract maximum benefit from this process for yourself. But in this article we will not consider all these techniques, but will give an example of only one, which is distinguished by its simplicity and effectiveness. This technique is called the "Eisenhower Matrix".

The Eisenhower Matrix is ​​one of the most popular time management tools that is used by many people around the world: from ordinary employees and middle managers to executives of large firms and world-famous corporations. The founder of this matrix is ​​the 34th President of the United States, Dwight David Eisenhower. As you might guess, this man was very busy and had to do many different things related to his activities. For this reason, he was optimizing his work schedule and list of tasks to perform. The result of his research was the matrix we are considering.

The meaning of the Eisenhower matrix is ​​mainly to learn how to competently distribute all your tasks, distinguish the important from the urgent, the non-urgent from the least important, and also reduce the time to the maximum for doing any tasks, the implementation of which does not produce any significant results. Let's talk about how all this works in practice.

The essence of the Eisenhower matrix

The Eisenhower Matrix consists of four quadrants, based on two axes - the importance axis (vertical) and the urgency axis (horizontal). As a result, it turns out that each quadrant differs in its quality indicators. All tasks and affairs are recorded in each of the quadrants, thanks to which an extremely clear and objective picture is formed of what should be done first, what should be done second, and what should not be done at all. All this is quite simple, but giving a few explanations will not be superfluous in any case.

Quadrant A: important and urgent matters

In ideal planning, this quadrant of the matrix should remain empty, because the appearance of important and urgent matters is an indicator of disorganization and the possibility of blockage. This part of the schedule fills up for many people due to their inherent laziness and poor prioritization. Naturally, from time to time such things can appear in every person, but if this happens every day, then it’s time to pay attention to it.

So, the occurrence of cases in the A quadrant should be avoided. And to do this, you just need to complete the points of the remaining quadrants in a timely manner. But if there is something worth including in the first quadrant, it is:

• Things that, if not completed, will have a negative impact on achieving your goals
• Things that, if not done, can cause difficulties and troubles
• Things related to health

It is also important to remember that there is such a thing as “delegation”. This means that when things appear in your A quadrant that can be delegated to someone else, you should definitely take advantage of this opportunity in order to resolve other important and urgent matters as quickly as possible.

Quadrant B: important but not urgent matters

The second quadrant deserves the most attention, because the matters located precisely in it are the most priority and promising, and it is these that should consist of the daily tasks of any person. It has been noticed that people who are primarily engaged in the activities of this quadrant achieve the greatest success in life, get promoted, earn more money, have enough free time and live a happy and fulfilling life.

Please also note that the lack of urgency allows you to approach the solution of any problems more deliberately and constructively, and this in turn allows a person to reveal his full potential, independently think through all the nuances of his activities and manage the time frame of his affairs. But here, among other things, you need to remember that things that are in the B quadrant, if not done in a timely manner, can easily fall into the A quadrant, becoming even more important and requiring speedy completion.

Experienced time management specialists recommend including in quadrant B all current affairs related to the main activity, planning and analysis of work, training and compliance with the optimal schedule, etc. Those. everything that makes up our ordinary everyday life.

Quadrant C: urgent but not important matters

Things that are in this quadrant are, for the most part, distracting and do not bring a person any closer to the intended results. Often they simply interfere with concentration on the truly important tasks and reduce efficiency. The main thing when working with the matrix is ​​not to confuse urgent matters from quadrant C with urgent matters from quadrant A. Otherwise, confusion will form and what should be done first remains in the background. Always remember yours and learn to distinguish the important from the unimportant.

Quadrant C matters include, for example, meetings or negotiations imposed by someone else, birthday celebrations of not very close people, sudden chores around the house, elimination of non-vitally important distractions that require attention (a vase broke, a microwave broke). stove, a light bulb has burned out, etc.), as well as all sorts of other things that do not move you forward, but only slow you down.

Quadrant D: Not urgent or important matters

Tasks in the last quadrant are of no benefit at all. In many cases, it is useful not only to deal with them last, but also not to deal with them at all. Although you definitely need to know about them, because... They are the “time wasters”.

Another interesting feature of the tasks from this group is that they are very attractive to many people - these tasks are easy to do and bring pleasure, allowing you to relax and have a good time. Therefore, resisting the temptation to engage in them can be quite problematic. But it is absolutely necessary to do this.

In quadrant D you can write down such things as talking on the phone with friends about something unimportant, unnecessary correspondence or spending time on social networks, watching TV series and various “stupid” TV shows, computer games, etc. Of course, every person should periodically relax and somehow entertain themselves, but there are more interesting and educational ways to do this: reading, visiting gyms and swimming pools, trips to nature, etc. If you can’t completely rid yourself of doing things from quadrant D or don’t want to, then you need to postpone their implementation at least until the moment when things from quadrants B and C are completed, and the time that will be devoted to things in quadrant D should be reduced to a minimum. The well-known proverb would be appropriate here: “It’s time for business, time for fun.”

As soon as you master the Eisenhower matrix and learn to competently distribute your affairs within it, you will notice that you have a lot of new free time, you manage to do everything in a timely manner and without haste, all your affairs are in order, goals are achieved one after another, and you yourself are almost always in a good mood and good spirits. It's all about organization and composure. You yourself probably notice from time to time that disorganized people are always in a whirlwind of some incomprehensible affairs, they are always busy with something stupid, but “very important”, they look tired and irritated. There are many distinctive features that can be cited. But this is not important, but the fact that if you and I do not want to have similar results, then we must act differently. Namely: we must be organized, clearly understand what and when we need to do, and why we are doing all this. And the Eisenhower matrix is ​​perfect for this.

We wish you good luck and successful mastery of your new skill!

The Eisenhower Matrix is ​​a way to properly plan your time and efforts, which has found the widest application throughout the civilized world. It is based on the fact that the tasks necessary for execution are entered into a certain table, laid out in a special way. They may concern the professional, family or economic sphere. When studying them in this context, it becomes clear what you need to pay attention to first.

The Eisenhower Matrix, as a tool for setting life priorities, is very important for a modern person. Since he is faced with many important tasks at once in a short unit of time, he needs to be able to correctly determine which of them should be taken on first.

The essence of the prioritization method

From the very beginning, all tasks for a person are equal, and only studying them using the Eisenhower Matrix makes it possible to identify the most important ones. Such a schedule is important so as not to waste time on non-urgent tasks. This is what makes it possible to become luckier and more successful.

If you fully master the principle of using a table, then the issue of intervals between tasks that arise during the day will be resolved by itself.

If there is a huge number of issues in the workplace that need to be solved almost simultaneously, then you should learn to use this method perfectly. If what the boss wants, what the clients need and the financial components are distributed in special sections of the table, then the manager will never experience stress.

The principle of the Eisenhower Matrix makes it possible to create your work schedule in such a way that the tasks and instructions of your superiors will not overlap each other. All problems are distributed depending on their real significance for the person himself and for the temporary factor. Therefore, a special cell is provided for each of them.

The graph consists of four compartments, delimited by two axes of importance and urgency. All necessary tasks are entered into them and analyzed using available tools. This method is not difficult, because from such a perspective it very quickly becomes clear which priorities are top priority.

The main goals of creating the Matrix were:

• selection of main ones;
• setting life goals;
• reducing time for unnecessary tasks;
• planning your work schedule;
• distribution of cases according to their urgency;
• fixation on the main thing;
• the ability to separate the essential from the secondary;
• meeting the deadline;
• discipline;
• saving time;
• no rush;
• rationalization of your day;
• implementation of plans, etc.

The matrix includes four squares where data is entered. It involves completing some business, task or long-term goal. It is divided into components: A, which contains important and urgent tasks. B includes truly important items, but not urgent ones that must be postponed. WITH implies urgent things, but not too important. In principle, they can be neglected. D considers goals that are neither important nor urgent. They are not really needed at all.

One should not, of course, forget about leisure time to take a break from the heap of things to do. But it also needs to be distributed over the course of a day so that it turns into a pleasant pastime, and not into nervous tension. If you prioritize correctly, you will have the opportunity for walks, shopping, communication with loved ones, and cultural events.

General principle of the structure of the Eisenhower Matrix

To begin with, you should choose a specific case and try to analyze it so that it fits exactly into a certain column of the table.

It could be anything:

• visiting the dentist;
• playing sports;
• cosmetic procedures;
• preparing a gourmet meal;
• date;
• training or meeting with management;
• music lesson for a child;
• communication with children;
• drawing or dancing, etc.

It is advisable to arrange all the main components in the appropriate segments so that they all remain in the plans, but will take their rightful place in the prioritization. You can distribute your efforts in their implementation accordingly.

If we look at everything in more detail, we get this option.

1 – A. Filled in last, when less important matters have already been entered into other areas. Such a column should contain the most important professional tasks; hasty implementation of goals that will not be fulfilled if the time factor is not taken into account; basic goals; something that will jeopardize vital components; problems that threaten the health of one’s own or someone else’s.

2 – B. This includes what are daily tasks. If they are not followed, the efficiency of overall activities will decrease significantly. Moreover, serious difficulties may arise, as a result of which all other matters will have to be postponed. Important goals are completed first, followed by urgent ones. They relate to health, professional goals and financial needs.

3 – C. This area includes things that need to be done urgently, but not necessarily right now. If you postpone the implementation of such plans for a while, then circumstances may even improve or additional data will become clearer. There are more important and urgent goals at this moment. If you neglect them, then everything else will be of little importance.

4 – D. This square, like A, is what remains after the other cells are filled. Things that are not too important are included here, which are allowed not to be done at all or done last. If you tackle them from the very beginning, you will end up with a logjam of urgent problems.

Application of the Eisenhower Matrix in life

In order to understand exactly how to use the Matrix, you should analyze the main components of human life.

1. Professional matters. They are included in the most urgent and important goals. Naturally, they are entered into square A. You need to think about whether anything at the moment can become more important, for example, providing emergency assistance to someone. If not, then they are executed first. These include basic tasks that cannot be postponed until later, since such neglect can lead to negative consequences. If you want to do everything, then first you need to put all the components into this square. It should be filled almost entirely with work responsibilities. However, they are not layered on top of each other, but are arranged in strict chronological order from the truly important matters on which the company’s activities depend to non-urgent orders from management.
2. Family relationships. They are entered into B. This thing is very important, but until the work is done, there is no need to do it. Moreover, it is unclear how much time it can take. Therefore, such important priorities should be slightly shifted in time. However, they cannot be neglected. Personal life is one of the most important areas of human existence. Therefore, it is better to postpone something less urgent for later, but try to find a common language with your spouse. An improved mood will allow you to cope with other matters much faster and more efficiently.
3. Housekeeping. It should be listed in point C. Such things can be done by a husband, children or mother-in-law. This is certainly a worthwhile task, but devoting time to it to the neglect of everything else is hardly advisable. You can do it yourself, but as a last resort. If there is absolutely nothing to eat in the house, then your loved ones will go to a cafe or cook something themselves. It is best to plan such things in advance or, in extreme cases, abandon them altogether. In this case, they distract from truly urgent goals and become a big hindrance if they are put in first place. They will not only take up a lot of time, but will make you nervous and constantly take time off from the process. The prepared delicacy will end in a reprimand from the manager or a serious quarrel with loved ones. Moreover, a woman risks having a breakdown from increased stress. Therefore, it is necessary to be able to plan very clearly in cases of this category.
4. Friendly connections are safely entered in D. If you can’t chat with your friend on the phone, nothing bad will happen. In addition, there will be time for really important things. There is no need to think that these are absolutely non-urgent and unimportant matters. They can bring great benefit and even pleasure if done in due time. Friendship is very valuable, but it should not come at the expense of work or family.

Using the Eisenhower Matrix, you can always manage to complete everything on time.

It is used all over the world as a basic tool for setting priorities. It is used in management, in art, in family life, and in health issues. The schedule allows you to distribute time periods so accurately that there is time for all urgent matters, and at the end of the day the person does not look exhausted and exhausted.

If you correctly fill in all the squares of the Eisenhower Matrix, you can not only save a large number of strength, but also to become a completely successful person who leaves nothing for later and does not disrupt plans.

This method allows you to distribute your life in such a way that there is no room left for stress and thwarted plans. It makes it possible to identify what is most urgent in order to free up time for less urgent matters.

Eisenhower Matrix(priority matrix) is one of the most famous tools for managing your time. It was invented by Dwight Eisenhower, the 34th President of the United States. Being the head of state is a troublesome business; such a person is always very busy, because... his work combines different functions. He has to do a lot of things in a day.

So Eisenhower began testing different time management tools. He wanted to find something that was most effective. But he never found something that satisfied him. Therefore, in the end, he created his own instrument, which later received his name.

Eisenhower's organizational skills were always and everywhere appreciated. And completely deservedly so. Now the Eisenhower matrix is ​​considered one of the most effective funds for making plans for the short term.

This wonderful tool will undoubtedly be useful to every modern person. Today everyone needs to be able to manage their time. After all, our life passes in haste and bustle. But, despite enormous efforts, rarely anyone is satisfied with the results of their activities.

More and more people are complaining about lack of time. Although we are all allocated the same number of minutes every day. However, some people manage to do everything, while others carelessly waste their time on useless things. The Eisenhower Matrix helps you organize your time correctly and thereby dramatically increase your efficiency.

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Eisenhower matrix

The Eisenhower matrix is ​​used for planning for a short period (one or several days). This is an effective method of processing those to-do lists that a person plans to do during this period. As a rule, people make such long lists that it is a priori impossible to redo all the things on them.

As a result, they accumulate unfinished and... And this is dangerous, because... incompleteness not only slows down movement towards the goal, but in general can harm the further development of life. After all, there is a high probability of wasting strength and energy on something that a person does not need at all.

The Eisenhower Matrix allows you to quickly and efficiently sort through your to-do list by categorizing those to-dos. As a result, a person clearly sees all the most important matters, as well as those matters that are not worth his attention at all.

The Eisenhower matrix consists of 4 fields (quadrants) - one for each category of cases. Categories are determined by principle of urgency and importance: important - not important, urgent - not urgent. The figure below shows how these quadrants are distributed.

In each quadrant, from the general list of cases, only those cases that meet the criteria of this quadrant are included.

Description of quadrants
matrices Eisenhower

To understand how to work with the Eisenhower matrix, first of all, you need to understand its quadrants - what to enter there. As I already said, we are considering only those tasks that you plan to complete during the day or some short period.

Quadrant 1.
Urgent and important matters.

The biggest and most important secret of the Eisenhower matrix is ​​that the first quadrant should always remain empty . Only in this case can we say that a person knows how to effectively manage his time and knows how to plan well.

If there are things that need to be entered into the first quadrant, then this means that there are rush jobs in a person’s life. He does not know how to plan correctly and is used to putting everything off until the last moment. He gets down to business only when all the deadlines are about to expire.

Therefore, if you strive to be effective, then, first of all, you should find all the reasons that interfere with your productive work. I can disappoint you that there can be a huge number of such reasons, ranging from inability to plan to procrastination.

Naturally, all these obstacles must be removed first. Otherwise there is no point in talking about efficiency at all.

However, sometimes unforeseen matters may arise that need to be included in the first quadrant. But be careful. Remember that there are two main criteria for selecting these cases:

1. 1. Failure to complete a task threatens to set you back in achieving your goal.
   2. Failure to complete the task can lead to troubles - deterioration of health (for toothache), a fine (for non-payment of a loan), flooding (for a leaking pipe), etc.

Of course, it is best to think about this in advance and avoid such situations altogether. It is always much easier to prevent possible troubles than to eliminate the consequences. Think about it and do everything on time. Well, if things from this quadrant do not need your direct participation, then they should generally be delegated to someone.

Quadrant 2.
Important and not very urgent matters.

Eisenhower considered dealing with the affairs of this quadrant to be the most important. If a person places a task here in a timely manner and consistently completes it, then he can devote as much time to this task as it requires.

Moreover, he can work without haste, fuss, and then not suffer from various harmful consequences. Thus, a preventive examination at the dentist will protect you from unexpected toothache, and timely work on the report will save you from working at night.

This group of tasks must include things that are aimed at achieving your goals.

These are the things you need to focus on. maximum attention and this is where you need to put all your strength. Because purposeful and methodical implementation of affairs in this quadrant guarantees greater returns in the future.

Must be included in the second quadrant to-do list must be turned on tasks for personal growth, self-development, taking care of your health. After all, all this forms the foundation of any success. This should also include tasks for analyzing one’s actions, as well as developing new plans and analyzing new opportunities and prospects.

Without the burden of urgency, you can complete your tasks with the highest quality possible. But do not forget that you still need to follow the deadlines. And failure to complete these tasks on time can move them into the first quadrant. But we must beware of such an outcome.

Quadrant 3.
Urgent and unimportant matters.

Cases that are placed in this quadrant interfere work effectively, because require urgent attention. We must be especially attentive to such matters. They are often confused with the tasks of the first quadrant. But not everything urgent is important. Main criterion to distinguish between urgent and important - whether this matter brings you closer to your goal or not. The third quadrant includes tasks that have nothing to do with your goal.

Therefore, you must always clearly remember them and be focused on them. The simplest thing is to always have their description before your eyes.

Many household tasks fall into the third quadrant, for example, repairing shoes at the end of the season, helping a neighbor move furniture, or making unimportant phone calls. Previously unplanned matters may also appear here, such as some kind of urgent meeting. But computer repair, for example, can be both important (if you work on it or blog) and unimportant (if you only use it for games).

So, don't confuse importance and urgency. For some reason, most people automatically begin to consider urgent matters important. As a result, tension and time pressure arise in their lives, and their days are filled with turmoil.

Turmoil always removes one from the goal. The founder of management, Frederick Taylor, once said that the organization of affairs can be considered good if everything is done slowly and without fuss.

As a rule, things in the third quadrant just distract from what you are aiming for and what you really need. They are simply eat up time. Therefore, it is best to try not to distract your attention on such matters. Understanding whether something is important or not is quite simple - just ask yourself “ What happens if I don't do this?“.

Quadrant 4.
Unimportant and non-urgent matters.

This includes everything that we do almost every day, but it has nothing to do with our work: watching TV, empty telephone conversations, computer games, visiting forums, social networks, etc. These are usually nice things to do, but not at all necessary.

Eisenhower called these cases real “ time wasters“, which reduce the productivity of the day.

Doesn't anyone really mind spending 203 hours on ? But this is more than a week of our life. And this time could be used more productively.

You can simply not do such things, or do them only when you have free time. In the general queue of your tasks, they should be at the very end. And don’t forget to strictly limit the time you allocate to such things.

Some may say that such activities help him relax. But this can hardly be called a complete rest. Such activities are not only useless, they are harmful. It's better to have quality rest.

So find your time wasters and set over them tight control.

By the way, many routine tasks from the fourth quadrant can and should be done. In any family, you can distribute responsibilities so as not to overstrain yourself and do everything calmly.

Two big advantages
Eisenhower matrices

This matrix will become an indispensable assistant for those who dream of increasing the efficiency of their work.

Firstly, even the simple distribution of tasks into quadrants will clearly show what is relevant to you and what is not.

Very often we are used to working automatically. And if something was once written on our list, then it must be completed. What if this matter has lost its relevance? It turns out that we do work for the sake of work itself.

With a clear conscience, all irrelevant matters can be removed. You won't even notice the consequences of their absence. Even if you started doing some of them and didn’t finish them, you can just as easily forget about it.

Secondly, the matrix teaches you how to plan correctly.

When a person simply makes to-do lists for himself, it is often very difficult for him to estimate the amount of work he is taking on. This is how not just lists arise, but long sheets. unfulfilled tasks are carried over from day to day, adding to that. that arises again.

Whatever it was, there is a purely physical limit on how much you can do in a day. But such a simple limitation is often simply not recognized. Working with the matrix adds awareness and allows you to move on to more competent planning.

Assessment test
your productivity

Many people find it difficult to assess their ability to organize the work process. And this is natural. The necessary skills are not given to us from birth. You need to develop them within yourself. But to do this you need to know what skills you lack. Then it will be easier to find techniques that will help develop the necessary qualities.

The excellent test “Do you know how to organize your work” will help you with this. This is an 8-page brochure, which, in addition to the test, contains keys to decipher it, as well as an explanation of the results obtained.

This test will allow you to better understand what is preventing you from achieving success, what needs to be changed and what to develop in yourself for this. He

• will show how effectively you can act to solve the assigned tasks;
• will help you determine what you need to do to get better results.

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At this point we will interrupt our consideration of the Eisenhower matrix. I suggest that you think carefully about this information and try to use it to break your affairs into these categories. And in the second part of the article we will get acquainted in more detail with how to work with this matrix.