The Eisenhower matrix: urgent versus important
The Eisenhower matrix sorts tasks by two questions: is it urgent, and is it important? The idea is credited to a 1954 remark by US President Dwight D. Eisenhower, "what is important is seldom urgent and what is urgent is seldom important", and Stephen Covey popularised it as a four-box grid in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.
This board gives you the four boxes: Do, Schedule, Delegate and Drop. Add tasks to a box, move them as priorities change and tick them off when done. Tasks are saved in your browser so the board is still there tomorrow.
How to use it
- For each task, ask: does it have a real deadline soon, and does it matter for my goals?
- Add it to Do (urgent and important), Schedule (important, not urgent), Delegate (urgent, not important) or Drop (neither).
- Work through Do first, then block time in your calendar for Schedule.
- Move tasks between boxes as things change, and tick them off when they are done.
Example: sorting a Monday morning
Fix the payment bug customers report Prepare next quarter's plan Book the team lunch Reorganise old email folders
Do: Fix the payment bug customers report Schedule: Prepare next quarter's plan Delegate: Book the team lunch Drop: Reorganise old email folders
The plan matters more than anything on the list but has no deadline today, which is exactly why it belongs in a scheduled slot instead of waiting for a free moment that never comes.
The box that matters most
Urgent tasks announce themselves; important but not urgent ones do not. Planning, learning, health, relationships and preventive work all live in the Schedule box, and they are what pushes life and work forward. If your Do box is always full, many of those fires probably started as Schedule tasks that were postponed.
Treat Schedule as a calendar commitment: give each task a time slot this week rather than leaving it on the board.
Delegate and Drop honestly
Delegate means someone else can do it as well or better, or it can wait for a better time. Drop is for tasks that serve no goal: some meetings, some reports nobody reads, tidying that only feels productive. Clearing them out frees the time that Schedule needs.
Where your tasks are stored
The board saves tasks in your browser's local storage on this device. They are not uploaded, so they do not sync to your phone or another browser, and clearing your browser data deletes them. Clear all empties the board on purpose.
Questions
Can I use it on my phone and laptop?
Each browser keeps its own board. There is no account or sync, which is also why nothing leaves your device.
How often should I sort tasks?
A quick review each morning and a longer one each week works for most people. Priorities change, so move tasks freely.
Is it the same as a to-do list?
It is a to-do list with a decision built in: before a task is listed, you decide what kind of attention it deserves.