Eisenhower Matrix: explanation & advantages

Projects must be structured and well planned to succeed. Often, however, there is so much to do that project participants no longer really know what they should work on next. There is a way to make the realization of projects even easier and to regain the overview. We are talking about the Eisenhower Matrix. What it is all about and what advantages the Eisenhower principle brings with it, we explain to you here.

What is the Eisenhower Matrix?

The Eisenhower Matrix is a tool that you can use to prioritize your tasks. After all, there are more than enough of them during an ongoing project. The Eisenhower Matrix divides your tasks into four categories. To make a classification, you should ask yourself the questions for each task:

• Is this task important?
• Is this task urgent?

Try to give as clear answers as possible. Decide either for or against a task being important or urgent. Statements like “a bit urgent” or “maybe important” are not useful, may be distracting from more urgent tasks and therefore not allowed in this method.

The Eisenhower Matrix is then visualized in the form of a diagram. The two axes stand for importance and urgency. This creates four categories into which your tasks fall, also known as the Eisenhower Box:

• Important and Urgent (A)
• Important and not urgent (B)
• Not important and urgent (C)
• Not important and not urgent (D)

What does the Eisenhower Matrix do?

With the Eisenhower principle you create a classification of all the tasks in a project. A tasks should be done immediately, while you can take more time for B tasks. C tasks should be delegated and monitored, while D tasks can be neglected altogether.

The advantage of this method is that you can see at a glance which tasks are really important and which tasks can be sorted out completely. Through the graphical representation you always have a visualization in front of your eyes, so you don’t lose the overview of your project.

Another advantage of the Eisenhower Matrix is that it is very easy and quick to implement. No training is necessary to understand and implement the principle of Eisenhower. In this way, you will quickly and easily bring order to your project and other business tasks that come up.

The Eisenhower Matrix is not only popular in the field of project management. It can also be used to manage your own tasks. So you are able to always keep track of everything that needs to be done.

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The Eisenhower Matrix comes with numerous benefits. Are you interested in more agile methods for your project? IFAAI offers useful trainings on Scrum, Agile and other methods. Your certifications will make you a valuable member of any project – be it new product development or a project in another important business area.