Three Useful Alternatives to the Eisenhower Matrix
In ascending order of profanity.
Much has been written about the Eisenhower Matrix as a productivity and prioritization tool. It’s a pretty simple layout, with two columns and two rows. Across the top are “Important” and “Unimportant” labels, and down the side are “Urgent” and “not urgent.”
The idea is to categorize each task you have by these two criteria, which will then help you figure out what you really should be doing:
- Important and urgent: do it, duh.
- Important and not urgent: schedule a time to do it, or delegate it to someone you trust.
- Not important and urgent: delegate it or delete it.
- Not important and not urgent: just delete it.
Named after General-and-President Dwight Eisenhower, it’s a popular too because there is a comfort to the grid, of suddenly knowing where everything belongs and what you are supposed to be doing.
There are some problems, though. Not everything fits in a binary category; some things may be important or urgent to certain people, but not to others.
I’ve found that there are some other matrices that are more useful in different situations or phases of life.
