An earlier version of this article attributed urgency and importance to Dwight Eisenhower. This version has been updated to reflect both Eisenhower and Stephen Covey’s popularization of the matrix.
Conquer Your To-Do List with This Simple Hack
A framework to help you prioritize.
August 06, 2020
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Summary.
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by out to-do lists, leaving us unsure where to begin. When this happens, it can be helpful to focus on two criteria in our decision making: importance and urgency. Consider these two criteria as part of a two-by-two matrix. On one axis is importance, and on the other is urgency. When you need to prioritize your assignments, this matrix can help you decide when you can delegate, eliminate or postpone the less essential in order to focus on what is mission critical.