How to Be Productive Using the Eisenhower Matrix

Half of productivity is choosing the right things to work toward! Learn how to be productive using the Eisenhower Matrix. It’s a secret weapon tool to figure out what’s important to you, right now.

You know I love to talk productivity. I always say that productivity is a totally valid form of self-care, when it’s approached in a healthy way. (You can learn all about that in The Productivity Tool Kit!)

We’ve even covered 13 productivity tips that you could use today, how affirmations can help our mental organization, and how simple schedules can help with day-to-day tasks like house cleaning.

I also always say that a huge part of being productive is knowing what you want to produce. It’s impossible to be or feel productive if you’re spinning your wheels because you can’t figure out where exactly you need productivity.

And oftentimes, that happens because we’re so overwhelmed we don’t even know where to start. Sound familiar?

A Secret Weapon Tool for Prioritizing

If that sounds like a place that you find yourself often, then we’re in the same boat. There have been so many times where my to-do list was so overloaded I felt paralyzed to do anything at all.

And in those moments, it can start to feel like everything is a priority. Like you have to get it all done right now.

But that’s just anxiety talking.

And there’s a tool that can help figure it out! Yay!

The Eisenhower Matrix is a totally simple but totally brilliant concept, attributed to (you guessed it) Dwight D. Eisenhower. He created it to help prioritize tasks by both urgency and importance.

How to be Productive with the Eisenhower Matrix

Basically, the Eisenhower Matrix (also known as the Urgent-Important Matrix) helps you sort your tasks into a grid, separating them by what is more or less urgent and important. And to see everything laid out in this way helps you figure out an obvious path forward.

It’s a perfect tool for those moments when you feel overwhelmed by your to-do list or tasks.

You can find a link to our Eisenhower Matrix template download at the bottom of this post.

Start by creating a 2×2 grid. On the top of the grid, write “Urgent” over the left column and “Less Urgent” over the right column.

On the left side of the grid write “Important” next to the top row and “Less Important” next to the bottom row. Now you’ve got a matrix.

If you don’t want to make one yourself, you can download ours.

Start sorting your tasks into these various sections of your grid. At first it might feel uncomfortable to call some of your tasks “less urgent” or “less important,” but you’ll start to be able to differentiate the more you work with it.

What to Do After You Sort Your Tasks

Once your tasks are sorted, you can use the matrix as a map to move forward. Here’s the breakdown.

The tasks in the upper left are urgent and important. Those need to get done, so do those first. Prioritize work on these tasks right away.

The tasks in the upper right are important but not urgent. Schedule them sometime in the near future.

Tasks in the lower left are urgent but not important; delegate these if you can.

And tasks in the lower right are neither urgent nor important. Decide whether you actually need to do these at all. (The answer is often no!)

An Example Eisenhower Matrix

Here’s how one of my recent to-do lists broke down into tasks on the Eisenhower Matrix.

So you can see, the things that needed immediate doing were writing a partnership blog post and planning the kids’ daily schedule. I did those right away, myself.

Laundry was urgent but not important, so I delegated that to Ryan and the kids.

Planning email broadcasts was important but not urgent, so that’s now scheduled out for the future.

And deleting Lightroom photos was neither important nor urgent, so I’m evaluating whether I even need to do it.

Downloadable Eisenhower Matrix Template

Click the button below if you’d like our Eisenhower Matrix template. You can print it over and over to organize your tasks throughout the year.

A Great Productivity Hack

File this away under “productivity hacks” for yourself next time you feel overwhelmed. It’s so easy to let our minds run away with us and start feeling like every single item on our list needs immediate attention.

This simple grid brings us back to ourselves and reality, and helps to sort through it all.

More Productivity Ideas

I think you’ll also love these other productivity and mental organization ideas:

• House Cleaning Schedule and Printable Checklist
• Printable Chore Chart For Kids
• Home Hack: Organize Your Coat Closet in 5 Minutes
• 13 Productivity Tips that You Can Use TODAY
• Positive Affirmations for Rad Female Entrepreneurs
• Creative Burnout // How to Refresh and Revive
• Map My Month // A New Series for Staying Present and Purposeful!
• Printable Summer Routine For Kids
• Book Plate History Printable (perfect for bookworms!)
• Puzzle History Printable Sticker

If you need a few more hacks, check out the Productivity Highlight on my Instagram! xoxo