How to Prioritize Like a Pro (or a President)

January 8, 2019

How to Prioritize Like a Pro (or a President)

Former U.S. President Eisenhower once famously said “I have two types of problems: the urgent and the important. The urgent are not important, and the important are never urgent.” Let that sink in for a moment.

How many of us have faced so many problems that come at us like “emergencies”, but in reality are just eating away at our valuable time? You know what I mean, those problems that aren’t truly urgent or truly important? Well, I have an easy solution to you for all those problems that are neither urgent or important. Delete them.

Yes, you read that correctly. Delete them. You have permission from the productivity Gods to let those types of problems go.

PROOF THAT DELEGATING YOUR PROBLEMS WORKS

President Eisenhower is accredited with developing a method of prioritization called the Eisenhower Matrix. This amazingly simple method for prioritizing problems (and projects, tasks, etc.) is easy to use and will help you identify what is truly the best use of your time. But first, let me just legitimize his methodology a little more by reminding you who and what President Eisenhower accomplished and did, other than be a U.S. President. (NBD, right?)

President Eisenhower was the U.S. five star general who led the Allied Forces in World War II to victory, and he was the first Supreme Commander of the NATO. While President of the U.S., he founded NASA and championed the development of the Interstate Highway System.

So, among being President, he was a war hero who led our country to victory in one of the toughest wars we ever faced as a nation, was an advocate for the infrastructure development that led to the creation of the modern day suburbs and the American family unit we know today, and he had such foresight and vision that he could anticipate the need for the human race to look beyond our little blue planet. Yeah, pretty smart guy.

Using Eisenhower’s method of prioritizing what’s really important could lead to the next great human discovery! So, how to do you use it?

WHAT IS THE EISENHOWER MATRIX & HOW DO I USE IT?

The Eisenhower Matrix is simply a box with four quadrants. Quadrant one is meant for problems that are urgent and important, quadrant two is used for the important but not urgent problems, quadrant three is for the urgent but not important problems, and finally, quadrant four is for the problems that are neither urgent nor important. Once you have properly identified where your problems go, you label them like this:

Urgent & Important = Problems to DO first
Important & Not Urgent = Problems you PLAN to do
Urgent & Not Important = Problems you DELEGATE (give these problems to somebody else!)
Not Urgent & Not Important = Problems you DELETE

Once you have your problems properly categorized, you will know exactly what to do first, plan for, delegate, and delete.

*PROTIP: This methodology works amazingly well with email inbox management too! Stop being a slave to your email and ask yourself, “Is this urgent? Is this important?” If it’s neither, delete it!

WHEN DO YOU USE THIS METHODOLOGY?

This methodology is so easy because it’s just two questions! I have used this method to great success when I have felt overwhelmed or when I know I have a lot of things in my head and I just need to brain dump them all out on paper. I will take about 10 minutes to just let all my tasks flow out of me. When doing this, I literally ask myself both questions: “Is this urgent? Is this important?”

Furthermore, I love this methodology because it’s simple and easy to execute. You only need a pen, paper and the artistic ability to draw a simple box.

So, get to work deleting those unimportant & non-urgent problems away. You have far more important and urgent problems to tackle. You don’t have time for that.

Get Your FREE Eisenhower Matrix Worksheet

We'll send you a template for free, so you can start being more productive today!

Hi, I’m Jessica

As an internationally recognized legal marketer and law firm executive, Jessica has spent her career helping attorneys pitch their services and their resumes to some of the largest global companies and CEOs in the world. Her specialty: Helping smart professionals be unforgettably hire-able. Whether you are seeking your first job or a career change, Jessica empowers you step-by-step. Execute simple, yet practical and actionable tasks to get your resume past the stack and into the hands of your next manager.