EISENHOWER

DECISION MATRIX

How To be More
Productive?
(TIME MANAGEMENT SKILL)

Dr. M.I. Sakri

Professor and Head, Automobile Engineering Department,
BLDEA’s Vachana Pitamaha Dr. P.G. Halakatti
College of Engineering and Technology, Vijayapur-586103
Lots of Tasks to complete!
 Which to take first?

 Which is Most Urgent?

 Which is Most Important?

 How to Give Priority to the tasks?

 Unable to take correct decisions?

 Efficiency goes down

 Fear of being fired

 Time is precious. How to manage it.?

Eisenhower Matrix
An effective tool to organize your Workload and Priorities
Who is Eisenhower?
Dwight D. Eisenhower, the 34th President of USA.
Served two terms from 1953 to 1961.
He launched programs that directly led to the
development of the Interstate Highway System in the
United States, the internet (DARPA), the exploration of
space (NASA), and the peaceful use of alternative energy
sources (Atomic Energy Act).

Before becoming president, Eisenhower was a five-star general in the United

States Army, served as the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in
Europe during World War II, and was responsible for planning and executing
invasions of North Africa, France, and Germany.

Eisenhower had an incredible ability to sustain his productivity not just for
weeks or months, but for decades.
His most famous productivity strategy is known as the Eisenhower Box
The Difference Between Urgent and Important
Urgent means  that  a  task  requires  immediate attention, usually 
associated with achieving someone else's goals.
These are the to-do’s that shout “Now!” .
Urgent tasks put us in a reactive(rigid) mode.

(phone calls, tasks with impending deadlines, and situations where you 
have to respond quickly. Responding to an email, when you have to do 
it, is usually an urgent task.

 Important tasks are things that contribute to our long-term mission, 
values, and goals. 
 Important activities have an outcome that leads to us achieving our 
goals, whether these are professional or personal. 
 important activities put  us  in  a responsive(flexible) mode,  which 
helps us remain calm, rational, and open to new opportunities.
The Eisenhower Box: How to be More Productive
The Eisenhower Matrix, also referred to as Urgent-
Important Matrix, helps anyone decide on and
prioritize tasks by urgency and importance, sorting
out less urgent and important tasks which you
should either delegate or not do at all.

The Eisenhower Matrix used for : Planning and Execution of Tasks to

improve Productivity.

“How should I spend my time each week?” and

“What should I do today?”

TASKS CAN BE CATEGORIZED AS:
1. URGENT AND IMPORTANT
(tasks you will do immediately).

2. IMPORTANT, BUT NOT URGENT

(tasks you will schedule to do later).

3. URGENT, BUT NOT IMPORTANT

(tasks you will delegate to someone else).

4. NEITHER URGENT NOR IMPORTANT

(tasks that you will eliminate).

Eisenhower Principle:

The urgent are not important, and the important are never
urgent.
THE EISENHOWER MATRIX (General)

URGENT NOT URGENT

URGENT AND IMPORTANT

IMPORTANT
1 IMPORTANT
DO IT NOW
(Crisis, Emergencies
2 NOT URGENT
DECIDE WHEN TO DO IT
(Health & Exercise, Personal
Deadlines, Problems) Growth, Relationship Building

URGENT NOT NOT IMPORTANT NOT

URGENT
3 4
NOT IMPORTANT IMPORTANT
DELEGATE IT DUMP IT
(Trivial busywork,
(Interruptions, Phone Junk Mail, Mindless TV
calls, Many meetings) Shows)
THE EISENHOWER MATRIX (General)
Urgent and Important Tasks Not Urgent but Important Tasks
• Certain emails (could be a job offer, • Weekly planning
an email for a new business • Long-term planning
opportunity that requires immediate • Exercising
action, etc.) • Family time
• Term paper deadline • Reading life-enriching books
• Tax deadline • Journaling
• Wife in emergency room
• Taking a class to improve a skill
• Spending time with a rewarding
• Car engine goes out
hobby
• Household duties/jobs • Studying
• You have a heart attack and end up • Meditating
in the hospital • Service

1 2
• You get a call from your kid’s
principal saying you need to come in
for a meeting about his behavior
Urgent and Not Important Tasks
• Car and home maintenance
• Date night with wife
• Creating a budget and savings plan

3 4
• Phone calls Not Urgent and Not Important
• Text messages
• Most emails (some emails could be
 Tasks Watching TV
urgent and important)
• Co-worker who comes by your desk  Mindlessly surfing the
during your prime working time to ask a web
favor  Playing video games
• Request from a former employee to write  Scrolling through
a letter of recommendation on his behalf Facebook, Twitter,
(it’s probably important to him, but let’s Instagram
face it, it’s probably not that important to  Gambling
you)  Shopping sprees
• Mom drops in unannounced and wants
your help with a responsibility
THE EISENHOWER MATRIX (Students)
URGENT AND IMPORTANT
IMPORTANT NOT URGENT
IMPORTANT
DO IT NOW DECIDE WHEN TO DO IT

1 2
(Date with a friend, Call parents,
(IA tomorrow, Return library books, Health checkup, To meet mentor,
Assignment, Lab journal…) Event, Gym, Dance class)

NOT IMPORTANT
URGENT NOT NOT IMPORTANT NOT

3 4
IMPORTANT URGENT
DELEGATE IT DUMP/DELETE IT
(Ringing phone/text alerts, (Playing video games, Face
Unnecessary work, book, WhatsApp, Time
Interruptions) wasters)

 URGENT NOT URGENT

Where to Spend Your Time?

Spend Maximum Time in:

Quadrant 1
Quadrant 2 Spend Some Time in:

Quadrant 3

Spend Least Time in:

Quadrant 4
Thank You