How I Use The Eisenhower Matrix To Prioritise My Work

[@patriciahartman7113]

This was the best explanation of how to use the Eisenhower matrix that I have run across, at least for me. Over the years I have tried the Eisenhower matrix a few times. But finally came to the conclusion several years ago, that it was a counter-productive tool for me due to my tendency to overthink things. I realized I was spending too much time deciding what went where every time I tried using it, I swore off ever using it again, acknowledging it was a great tool for a lot of people, but not for over thinkers. However after watching your explanation and clear cut examples, I could see myself using it - with little to no time needed to know what goes in what quadrant - especially Quadrants 2 and 4. I can’t believe I am actually looking forward to using the Eisenhower matrix in my next weekly planning session, after I thought I was done with it for good. Thank you 😊.

[@Carl_Pullein]

Hi Patricia, thank you, and I am glad you've found a way to work with the Eisenhower Matrix.

[@RobertPlank]

This video really opened my eyes! I learned that quadrant 2 tasks, though not urgent, are incredibly important for growth and should be scheduled to become non-negotiable. I also didn’t realize how sneaky quadrant 3 tasks can be. They seem urgent but can actually waste a lot of time! Setting boundaries, like not responding to certain emails, can save so much stress. Lastly, I love the idea of training people on how to communicate better with you. It’s all about taking control of your time! Thanks for sharing these insights!

[@Carl_Pullein]

Thank you, Robert. Glad you liked the video 🙂

[@meeluanistyn1644]

You brought the Eisenhower Matrix to life so well. When I was working my life revolved around quadrant 1 to the extent that other important activities fell by the wayside. Exercise is a good example. From being a gym rat, I stopped going six years ago as I couldn’t rationalise being in the gym when I ‘knew’ I should be at my desk early / over lunchtime etc. Poor decisions soon become the new normal.

[@Carl_Pullein]

It's much as Jim Rohn said: "a few simple disciplines practiced every day or a few errors in judgment repeated everyday"

[@KU-_-BA]

So if you schedule categories from quadrant 2 in calendar, tasks related to this events do not have to be prioritized. I have to focus only on those tasks related and everything else should wait. I personally created calendars naming those by areas of focus and in my reminders i use tags with same names and i’ve created smart lists so if it’s personal development time i open related list in reminders and do only those tasks. It's all dynamic, all i have to do is use one tag when i do my daily planning session. It’s improve my productivity. Thank You Carl for life simplifying, good tips and reminding us that we are all different.That is a clue to good productivity, not just copy your ideas but adjusting them to our individual preferences.

[@Carl_Pullein]

Glad to hear you've found a way that works for you, Jakub. Good luck.

[@missybroyles2066]

It finally makes sense! Thank you for this video!

[@Carl_Pullein]

You're very welcome 🙂

[@wprice620]

setting up a calendar appointment for me is easier to honor when it’s with someone else (client, doctor etc). keeping the appointments with myself i find is more challenging and requires more discipline. id like to learn how Carl manages this.

[@Carl_Pullein]

I look at it this way: If you're willing to ignore appointments with yourself, what does that tell you about your self-respect? In the end, the most important person in your life, Will, is you. Respecting yourself first should be a given.

[@wprice620]

@@Carl_Pullein I don’t feel alone in this and In the other areas of procrastination, I think it may be how one feels about the actual commitment level of the work that needs to be done. Perhaps there is an avenue for deeper exploration..

[@Carl_Pullein]

@@wprice620 I know this can be difficult, but ultimately, you always come first. When you put yourself first, you put yourself in a stronger position to help other people. It's like they say in the flight safety videos--put your oxygen mask on first before putting on young children's mask.

[@sakeusberg]

Smart! I will start thinking about this when I choose priority levels on my tasks in Todoist.

[@Carl_Pullein]

Glad it helped, Sakeus.

Carl, thank you for giving practical examples of how to use the Eisenhower Matrix! I understood the general idea of the matrix before, but not how to effectively use it in my daily planning. 🙏🏻

[@Carl_Pullein]

You're very welcome. Glad to have helped.

[@VictorBABBAGE]

Thanks for redefining Q3! I now need to ensure my colleagues at work fall into this segment. My direct team members, the ones working on projects with me stay in Q2 and sometimes can qualify for Q1.

[@Carl_Pullein]

You're very welcome, Victor.

[@hilde45]

Excellent video. Couple things I was left wondering about (maybe I missed you addressing them). (1) How do we manage the movement of items from one category to another -- e.g., emails that shift from "not important" to "important"? Or from "not urgent" to "urgent"? I am trying to conceive of that workflow. Otherwise, I just set things in boxes and then...what? (2) How to marry this matrix to Apple Reminders (or some other tool).

[@LoreMIpsum-vs6dx]

This is a great video. So practical and relevant. unlike other videos on the Eisenhower Matrix and other methods, you made it seem organic and personal. Thank you!

[@Carl_Pullein]

Glad you to have been able to help.

[@carinagatta]

Excellent presentation, thank you!

[@Carl_Pullein]

You're welcome.

[@travishuisman1817]

Great job on this. Thank you. It is appreciated!

[@Carl_Pullein]

Thank you, Travis. Glad you liked it.

[@LJ-jq8og]

Excellent topic and video ! 🔥 ❤ Using apple notes to do Eisenhower is my goal. Would love to se a video on that down the road...

[@Carl_Pullein]

Hmm good idea. I do have a few ideas in that category.

[@jdhayes]

Carl, excellent, clear, and concise explanation. I enjoy the practical information you produce and publish.

[@Carl_Pullein]

Thank you. Glad you liked it.

[@stevebriggs9399]

I start out listing the roles in my life in order of imporrtance 1) Child of God; 2) Husband/Father/Brother; 3) Colleague; 4) Citizen Under each of those roles, I list the values associated with those roles, habits (monthly, weekly, daily) that I need to develop or maintain. I may also add a goal to meet. On my task list, only tasks that contribute to one of those values, habits, or goals are important. Everything else is not important. My classification of urgent vs not urgent may put some things that are Quadrant II items for some people into Quadrant I. I like to keep it simple: Is there a deadline with negative consequences for not meeting it? If the answer is "yes" then it's "urgent", even if it doesn't need to be done right now. If the deadline is far out, then I set an appointment for myself ar enough ahead of the deadline. If there is no deadline, then it's not urgent. I keep my master list up frontb in my planner and migrate the list to my weekly and daily pages.

[@Carl_Pullein]

Hi Steve, that sounds like a fantastic way to ensure you have your values and roles up front and centre.

[@EthanJerryMings]

I like that matrix. Very helpful.

[@Carl_Pullein]

Very happy to have helped, Ethan.

[@user-dx1pr9oh8b]

Awesome take on it!

[@Carl_Pullein]

Thank you, Danny.

[@darkdepth1991]

Great Quality Video Carl ! I still try to follow all your content.

[@Carl_Pullein]

Thank you! And glad you liked it.

[@aqasanu1992]

Great video Carl. Keep up the solid work.

[@Carl_Pullein]

Thank you, Aqasa, glad you liked it.

[@animalrave7167]

Great video! I learned this from stephen covey about 15 years ago. Drastically changed the way i prioritize things. I combined stephens system with Davids allens GTD system. ( a sort of hybrid)I still use it to this day. It isn't perfect but pretty close and i haven't found anything better yet. if your doing any kind of creative thinking work i would highly recommend some type of zettlekasten system. it will save you time in the long run. The one criticism of this is that it doesn't account for resources, complexity, or level of effort a task requires.

[@Carl_Pullein]

That's one of the great things about creating your own system, you end up with something that works brilliantly for you. Thank you for sharing.

[@thecodingarchitect]

Hi Carl, thanks for the very down-to-earth explanation of the matrix. I've kind of used it before and know how to apply it, but somehow it doesn't become ingrained. Do you use it daily? Any tips on how to make sure to keep using it?

[@thecodingarchitect]

Oh. And is it ok to only schedule Q2 (Not urgent yet important) because Q1 will get done anyway?

[@Carl_Pullein]

@@thecodingarchitect I find once you have gone through the matrix and established what your Q2 tasks are, scheduling these to happen when they need to happen helps to ingrain them. My exercise, for example, is scheduled each day at the same time. I no longer need to think about it.

[@bogdanmarcu135]

These examples make this exercise more easy to understand and apply than in the Stephen Covey’s book. May I ask what calendar do you use?

[@Carl_Pullein]

I use Apple Calendar.

[@maheshgvelly]

What app do you use to track of this quadrants ?

[@Carl_Pullein]

I don't. I know what my Q2 tasks are and they are built into my task manager.

[@maheshgvelly]

@@Carl_Pullein gotcha any specific task manager you use ?

[@Carl_Pullein]

@@maheshgvelly I use Todoist.

[@karenmann5657]

So so helpful! I excuses!

[@ISayMusicIs4Life]

@Carl - Great video as always. Just want to know status of the time sector book you were working on , eagerly waiting for the same.

[@Carl_Pullein]

I'm in the review and edit stage at the moment, Ankur.

[@waseemqamar774]

beautiful

[@Carl_Pullein]

thank you 🙂

[@Mike-zz5kz]

Hi Carl, I like how you never come across as authoritative in these videos. I would love to hear more on how your productivity systems fit with you personal life/relationship.

[@Carl_Pullein]

My personal life is quite boring really. I love my work, so it'a hard to see that part of my life as work and I work long hours. To see my family I have to fly to the other side of the world, so those are fixed. I usually go twice a year. Early spring and Christmas. And I will break off work in the afternoons to spend time with my little dog, Louis and my wife.

[@matterof_fact]

Thanks

[@ljdunphy]

Did Covey take this from Eisenhower? Didn't know that.

[@Carl_Pullein]

Eisenhower made it famous, although it's possible he got it from Dr. J. Roscoe Miller, a former president of Northwestern University who coined the phrase "I have two kinds of problems, the urgent and the important. The urgent are seldom important, and the important are seldom urgent." Stephen Covey then used it in the 7 Habits book.

[@krishokeranandabedana302]

very good

[@klaus8982]

Is there a way to get this Eisenhower Matrix view on Todoist or do you just sort your to do's by priority from p1-p4?

[@Carl_Pullein]

There are multiple ways to do it. You can use flags (there are four), or you can use labels. If you are more of a purist, you could use the projects too for these.

[@klaus8982]

@@Carl_Pullein Awesome, thank you very much! Maybe you can do a video about it if you want because this method is quite popular.

[@Carl_Pullein]

@@klaus8982 Consider it done, Klaus.

[@TJcronmiller]

Is it really that healthy to be working based on a number?

[@Carl_Pullein]

Not sure what you mean. What number?

[@TJcronmiller]

Boxes of time.@@Carl_Pullein

[@KineticSoul2]

Incredibly helpful!! Thank you!

[@Carl_Pullein]

You're welcome.

[@airlinemac]

Hi Carl, Quick question, have you stopped using ToDoist? I’m asking because lately you’ve been emphasizing more on working with Calendar. Many Thanks Kind Regards, Sumudu

[@Carl_Pullein]

Oh no. Not at all. Todoist is my hub for everything that needs doing each day. However, there are some tasks that if they were in Todoist would never be completed because other things would always look more attractive (and less painful LOL)

[@l-74]

Carl , 10 things that differentiate Eisenhower matrix AND. ABCDE prioritisation method. Just give 1,2,3,4,.........10. urgent.

[@alexenderius]

Carl, you say that if any email comes to you that says "Hello, Hi, Hello Mr Carl Pullein" or something like that, you're not going to respond because that's just an automated copy and paste email. I feel like most emails start with some form of greeting, so I tend to read a little further to figure out if it's personalized. I also send out personalized emails which start with the words "Hello" and "Hi" but I don't send copy/paste, automated emails. Am I missing a way to create emails that look more personal?

[@Carl_Pullein]

Hi Alexander, for me it's a pattern I learned several years ago. If someone doesn't use my correct name at the start of the email as in (Hi Carl, Dear Carl, etc) then it's not going to be read. Of course, if it's from someone I know, often we drop the formalities, but from people/companies I don't know--sorry, I have no time if they aren't prepared to do the simple research to use my correct name.

[@alexenderius]

@@Carl_Pullein got it, thanks. You meant "Hi" or "Hello" without your correct name

[@tsereterin]

So doing taxes billing and other white collar stuff is box 2

[@notscot6788]

good videos. I speed it up by 75% to save time waiting on the next words. still intelligible, and that is my productivity hack. good work. thanks. ( no kidding.. I like the content but it is way too measured a pace for me. )

[@Carl_Pullein]

My apologies. I have a lot of non-native English speakers who watch my videos, out of respect for them, I try not to speak too fast.