Triaging Your To-Do List

. . . with the Eisenhower matrix

I returned from vacation a few weeks ago and looked at my to-do list. I had a sudden sense of overwhelm, which is not how I want to feel after relaxing vacation. I know that means it is time for me to take a step back and re-evaluate not only how I am managing my time, but what I allow on my to-do list.

My method of choice is the Eisenhower matrix.

During his tenure as Allied Commander of NATO and later as 34^th President of the United States, Dwight D. Eisenhower managed priorities effectively to complete many projects, such as launching NASA. He once said in a speech, “What is important is rarely urgent and what is urgent is rarely important.”

And that is how the Eisenhower matrix got its name.¹

Also called the Urgency-Importance matrix, this is a two-by-two graph with urgency on one axis and importance on the other. And although this is a popular time management tool, I have a slightly different take on it. I use it not only to protect my time, but to protect my energy (see my Substack on return on energy or ROE). Organizing my to-do list with this tool can also calm this sense of overwhelm because after evaluating each item on my list, I know that I am focusing on the things that are most important to me and my long-term goals.

The matrix has four quadrants:

Quadrant 1. Urgent and important. This category is for things that have deadlines or consequences, such as moving your car out of the 90-minute parking zone or completing a budget report that is due by the end of the day. These things are necessary, but we don’t want to spend a lot of our time or energy here. If we do, it suggests we are putting out fires instead of planning. ROE is equal or less than the energy you put in.

Quadrant 3. Urgent and Not Important. These are things that come at us. Other people’s priorities, low value tasks, unnecessary meetings. These things must get done, but they don’t require your skill set. The ROE is negative.

Quadrant 4. Not Urgent and Not Important. We  spend time here when we need a break from the urgent activities—to escape the rat race of Q1 and Q3. This includes activities like Wordle, social media, trivial work, or work avoidance activities. This is the quadrant of distraction. ROE is neutral or zero.

Quadrant 2. Important and Not Urgent. These are things that really matter for results (for me: daily writing, exercising). But these tasks are not urgent, meaning they won’t happen unless you act on them (and put them on your calendar). This is the quadrant of planning, relationships, effectiveness, and true recreation. ROE is greater than the time and energy you put in—these activities renew and energize you. This is why vacations and true relaxation are Q2 activities.

So how will the Eisenhower matrix help triage your to do list?

1. Write your to-do list. Take a look at each activity on the list and assign a quadrant based on the Eisenhower matrix.

2. Prevent the urgent activities in Q1 by planning ahead.

3. Minimize (or delegate) the activities in Q3.

4. Eliminate the activities in Q4 in favor of true relaxation.

5. Expand the time you spend in Q2 – those truly important activities, by planning and putting these items on your calendar.

A to-do list is much easier to manage, once you edit using this method.

It can also lead to insight. I discovered that part of the reason I was feeling so overwhelmed was because half of my to-do list fell into the category of urgent science communications (Q1, other people’s priorities). So, next time I go on vacation, I have to delegate my science communication activities so they aren’t emergencies when I return.

Thank you for reading!

1. This post on presidential productivity has me thinking back to a fourth grade project where I wrote “Me for President” on a campaign sign. This memory was the inspiration for my first chapter book (writing about science for kids is definitely a Q2 activity for me).