Prioritise with four boxes, in practice
The Eisenhower matrix sorts tasks by two questions: is it urgent, and is it important? Simple, yet many people end up with everything in "urgent and important". Here is how to make it work.
Do now: urgent and important
Real deadlines with real consequences: the client deck due today, a bill due tomorrow. Keep this box small; a full one means "plan" was ignored for too long.
Plan: important, not urgent
The box that matters most in the long run: exercise, renewing car tax before it lapses, saving. Give these a date before they turn urgent.
Quick wins: urgent, less important
Small errands that need doing but no thinking: pay Netflix, buy milk. Batch them in a spare moment.
Later: neither
Ideas, places to try, "someday" things. Write them down so they leave your head, without guilt.
Keeping "urgent" honest
- Urgent means due within days, not that it feels pressing
- Important means real consequences for work, money, health or people you care about
- Review weekly and move what is no longer urgent out of the first box
Let the app place them
In Dump you just type the task; it reads the date and words like "urgent" when you save and puts the task in a box for you. Scroll this site's home page to watch it.