A Time Management Tool Fit for a (Former) President

Today’s advice column will introduce you to a time management tool that is fit for a former President. The Eisenhower urgent-important matrix helps you evaluate tasks based upon their relative urgency/non-urgency and importance/unimportance, which allows you to prioritize them to figure out how to handle them. It is named after former President Dwight Eisenhower who created it and was once quoted as saying “I have two kinds of problems, the urgent and the important. The urgent are not important, and the important are never urgent”.

See below for correspondence between Rick and his childhood neighbor’s ‘friend with benefits’, Ethel

February 7, 2018

Hey Rick,

This is Ethel, I used to shack up with your neighbor Bob back in the day when I was a lot younger and a bit of a tramp and you were a cute little rug-rat. I hope you are doing well.

The reason I am writing you is that I am a bit disorganized and have so many things on my plate that egad I just don’t know what in tarnation to start first.

I would appreciate it if you would be a doll and recommend any time management tools or methods that may help me.

Bye for now,

Ethel

February 16, 2018

Dear Ethel,

Nice to hear from you. I can’t remember the last time I wrote an actual letter. You really need to get on email or text. My parents are even on email these days, get with the program! Glad you are able to call ‘a spade a spade’ with respect to your past behavior, good for you. I have to be honest though, it’s kinda weird hearing from someone my parents age about her promiscuous past.

Anyways, I was going to tell you to ‘Google’ a time management tool called the Eisenhower Urgent-Important matrix, but if you aren’t on email or text you probably have no idea what the hell Google is. Instead, go to the library (if they still exist) and do some research on it to see if you can figure out how to use it to help prioritize your life.

Let me know how it goes.

Take Care,

Rick

March 17, 2018

Dear Rick,

I did what you suggested, and it worked like a charm! See attached Eisenhower urgent-important matrix that I typed out on my typewriter.

You are the bees-knees! To show my appreciation, please send me your address as I want to make you some chocolate chip cookies.

Bye for now,

Ethel

Use It or Lose It!

To create an Eisenhower Urgent/Important matrix, take a list of tasks and simply put them in the appropriate quadrant above.

Then utilize each cell of the matrix as follows:

Urgent and Important – This is stuff you will want to take care of ASAP as it is both urgent and important. For example, if you forgot to practice safe sex, you may want to get a morning after pill so you don’t get pregnant.

Not Urgent but Important – You will want to create a timeline for this and make sure it gets done as it is important but not urgent. For example, paying your hydro bill, it isn’t due for 2 weeks, but you need to pay it so your power doesn’t get shut off.

Urgent but Not Important – This is stuff that needs to be done soon but it is not super important. For example, cutting the grass, it’s getting long yes, but no one will die if it doesn’t get done, although you neighbors may get pissed off at you. This is the type of task that you outsource or delegate.

Not Urgent and Not Important – This is stuff you don’t want to waste your time on because it is neither urgent, nor important. This may include bad habits like spending hours surfing the internet like a mindless drone.

When to Use the Eisenhower Matrix as a Time Management Tool

To prioritize various tasks in your life and to help with time management.

Discuss

If you have used the Eisenhower Urgent-Important matrix, please tell us about your experience using it.

Thanks for reading and until next time, remember…PYMFP!

Rick

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