The Urgent/Important
Matrix
High
Important Goals Critical Activities
Importance
Distractions Interruptions
Low
Low Urgency High
"What is important is seldom urgent and what is urgent is
seldom important."
-Eisenhower
Ideas on how to manage each
sector
High Not Urgent, but Important Urgent and Important
There are two distinct types of urgent and important
These are the activities that help you activities: Ones that you could not foresee, and others
achieve your personal and professional that you have left to the last minute.
goals, and complete important work. You can avoid the latter by planning ahead and
Make sure that you have plenty of time avoiding procrastination.
to do these things properly, so that they Issues and crises, on the other hand, cannot always be
foreseen or avoided. Here, the best approach is to
do not become urgent. And remember to leave some time in your schedule to handle
leave enough time in your schedule to unexpected issues and unplanned important activities.
deal with unforeseen problems. This will And if a major crisis arises, some other activity may
have to be rescheduled.
maximize your chances of keeping on
Importance
schedule, and help you avoid the stress If this happens, identify which of your urgent-
important activities could have been foreseen and
of work becoming more urgent that think about how you could schedule similar activities
necessary. ahead of time, so they do not become urgent.
Not Urgent and Not Important Urgent and Not Important
These activities are just a distraction, and Urgent but not important activities are things that stop
should be avoided if possible. Some can you achieving your goals, and prevent you from
completing your work. Ask yourself whether these
simply be ignored. Others are activities that tasks can be rescheduled, or whether someone else
other people may want you to do, but they could do them.
do not contribute to your own desired
A common source of such interruptions is from other
outcomes. Again, say "No" politely and firmly people in your office. Sometimes it's appropriate to
if you can. say "No" to people, or encourage them to solve the
problem themselves. Alternatively, try allocating time
If people see you are clear about your when you are available so that people only interrupt
you at certain times (a good way of doing this is to
objectives and boundaries, they will often schedule a regular meeting so that all issues can be
not ask you to do "not important" activities dealt with at the same time.) By doing this, you'll be
Low in the future. able to concentrate on your important activities for
longer periods of time.
Low Urgency High
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