The Eisenhower Matrix: prioritize tasks and get organized as a team

A strategic daily task table to stay focused on the essentials

What is important is seldom urgent and what is urgent is seldom important.

This famous quote, attributed to 34th US President Dwight D. Eisenhower, inspired a priority matrix, designed to rank actions to be taken, according to their urgency and/or importance.

With the Eisenhower Matrix, draw up a list of all tasks to be performed as a team when managing any project. They can be tasks of any kind: short, medium or long term. Then, place them in the matrix and define their urgency and/or importance together. You get a clear picture of actions to be completed. All you have to do is work as a team to set deadlines and share roles.

In the blink of an eye, you’re in sync and your project management becomes more effective!

Improve your time and priority management with the Eisenhower matrix

With this template, you will learn how to work as a team to focus your efforts on what is essential, but not necessarily urgent tasks, simply by organizing other tasks to be completed.

Urgent tasks are those that have to be completed and have consequences if deadlines are not respected. They can be related to many things, from processing a client’s urgent request to repairing a broken water pipe in your apartment! In the context of project management, learning how to identify and prioritize them helps you to avoid useless stress as you get nearer the end of your project.

Some important tasks are not always a priority, but they can help you achieve your long-term goals. They can be networking to build a client base, or recurring maintenance tasks, for example. It's vital to anticipate them if you want to make the most of your resources.

Using the Eisenhower matrix, you can recognize and classify your actions into four groups: Priority, To schedule, To delegate, To abandon. This workload management tool helps you to work as a team more efficiently and with less stress!

How to use the Eisenhower matrix template to organize a team schedule

Start by inviting your team to your whiteboard, then set the timer to frame the brainstorming phase to draw up a list of tasks to be completed. All the participants can post ideas, in any form they like!

Whether you’re in an in-person or remote meeting, assess the urgency and importance of each task as a team, based on its impact, the resources required or the deadlines. Then move the ideas to the corresponding areas and give them a suitable color. To better visualize what your project looks like, you can switch to Column view.

To facilitate your project management, review each action and collectively note as dimensions, the person responsible, along with the deadline and any other details. If necessary, make sure to use the Klaxoon Question tool to challenge team members about decision making!

Throughout your project, remember to keep your Eisenhower matrix up-to-date using the categories and the drawing tool to visualize the progress of each task. And discover the joy of working as a team effectively, with no stress, focusing on what really creates value.