Leadership and Business Skills · tool 1 of 11
Eisenhower Matrix
Eisenhower Matrix: separates urgent from important, so your time goes to what actually moves the project.
Best for: Daily and weekly planning · Time: 10 minutes
Domain: Across all domains · Focus area: Executing
Urgent
Not urgent
Important
1 · Do nowProduction incident, sponsor decision due today
2 · SchedulePlanning, risk review, 1:1s
Not important
3 · DelegateRoutine requests, some meetings
4 · EliminateLow-value reports, distractions
How it works
Each task is placed on a 2×2 grid. Important means it contributes to project objectives; urgent means it demands attention now. Each quadrant has its own action: Do, Schedule, Delegate or Eliminate.
- Quadrant 2 (important, not urgent) is where project managers create most value.
- A growing Quadrant 1 is a symptom of too little time spent in Quadrant 2.
How to apply it
- Write down every task on your plate.
- Place each in a quadrant — be honest about what is really important.
- Do Quadrant 1 today, and block calendar time this week for Quadrant 2.
- Delegate Quadrant 3 using your RACI; drop Quadrant 4.
- Repeat every Monday; teach the team to do the same with their own lists.
Pro tip
Urgency is often someone else’s priority. Before you jump, ask: “Does this serve the project objectives?”
Quick check
Preparing next month’s risk review is…
Sources
- S. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
Last reviewed 2026-11-02 against the PMBOK® Guide, 8th edition · Practitioner review pending · How this guide is made