Eisenhower Matrix: What It Is, a Filled-In Example, and a Version for ADHD
The Eisenhower matrix sorts tasks by urgent vs. important. See how to use it, a filled-in example, a printable template, and a version for ADHD.
Published 6 min read
The Eisenhower matrix is a simple way to decide what to do first by sorting tasks into four boxes, crossing two questions: is it urgent? and is it important? The result is four groups: do now (urgent and important), schedule (important, no rush), delegate or shrink (urgent, less important), and let go (neither urgent nor important). It helps you stop putting out fires all day and make room for what really matters. Further down you'll find a filled-in example, a printable template, and a version adapted for people with ADHD or anyone who freezes easily.
Where does the Eisenhower matrix come from?
The name honors Dwight D. Eisenhower, U.S. president from 1953 to 1961, who is often credited with drawing the line between what is urgent and what is important. The idea became a popular productivity tool through Stephen Covey's book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, which laid out the four quadrants still used today.
What's the difference between urgent and important?
This is the foundation of everything, and it's where most people get mixed up:
- Urgent means a short deadline or someone waiting on you right now. It shouts for attention.
- Important means a real consequence for your life, goals, or health. It's often quiet.
A ringing phone is urgent. A routine checkup is important. A group-chat message can feel urgent without being important. Studying for an exam two months away is important, but only becomes urgent the night before.
What are the 4 quadrants of the matrix?
| Urgent | Not urgent | |
|---|---|---|
| Important | Q1: Do now. Today's deadlines, real problems, things that can't wait. | Q2: Schedule. Study, health, planning, relationships, habits. This is where life gets better. |
| Not important | Q3: Delegate or shrink. Interruptions, other people's requests, lots of messages and meetings. | Q4: Let go. Things that just fill time and leave nothing behind. |
The goal isn't to empty Q1. It's to spend more time in Q2. The more you take care of what's important before it turns urgent, the fewer fires show up.
How do you use the Eisenhower matrix step by step?
- Dump everything. Write every task in your head onto a list, in no particular order.
- Ask two questions about each: "Is it due today or tomorrow, or does someone depend on it right now?" (urgent) and "If I don't do it, does something important to me suffer?" (important).
- Put each task in a box. Don't overthink it: your first answer is usually good.
- Q1: choose the order and start. Preferably with the heaviest task.
- Q2: give it a day and time. If it has no time, it won't happen.
- Q3: delegate, reduce, or batch. Answer messages at two set times, for example.
- Q4: cross it off without guilt.
- Review once a week. Tasks move between boxes over time.
To turn Q1 into a daily list that works, see How to Make a To-Do List That Actually Works.
Eisenhower matrix example, filled in
Picture a 34-year-old analyst, whom we'll call Julia, with an aging mother, a child in school, and a hybrid job. On Monday her list had 12 items. After the matrix:
Q1: Do now
- Submit the monthly report (due today at 6 p.m.).
- Pay the electric bill (due today).
- Pick up her son early (the school called).
Q2: Schedule
- Book a routine checkup (Wednesday, 9 a.m., call during the coffee break).
- 20-minute walk (Tuesday and Thursday, 7 a.m.).
- Study for the certification (Mon, Wed, and Fri, 8:30 p.m., 30 minutes).
- Sort her mother's pills into the weekly organizer (Sunday, 10 a.m.).
Q3: Delegate or shrink
- Reply to the family group chat (only at noon and 7 p.m.).
- Status meeting with no agenda (ask for an agenda or send a written summary).
- Buy the office gift-swap present (ask her husband).
Q4: Let go
- Reorganizing computer folders by color.
- Watching the new series "just one episode" in the middle of the afternoon.
Result: her day came down to 3 real tasks, and the important ones for the week got a time slot instead of floating around in her head.
Does the Eisenhower matrix work for people with ADHD?
It works, but the classic version tends to fail in three places for people with ADHD or anyone who identifies with that way of functioning:
- Everything feels urgent. When time perception is unstable, a task only "exists" close to its deadline. Q2 becomes a graveyard of good intentions.
- Q1 overflows. Ten tasks for "right now" is the same as none: the person freezes.
- Q4 becomes guilt. Rest and leisure get tossed into "eliminate," and then a tired brain runs to them anyway.
If you suspect you have ADHD or take medication, talk to a health professional.
A gentler version of the matrix (for ADHD)
| Box | New name | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 | Now (3 max) | If it goes past 3, the 4th drops to Q2 with a date. Start with the ugliest one, with 2 minutes on the clock. |
| Q2 | With a date | Every task needs a day, a time, and a mini version for bad days ("study 30 min" becomes "read 1 page"). |
| Q3 | Ask or shrink | Ask: can someone else do it, can I do half, can I combine it with something else? |
| Q4 | Let go or rest | Separate real time-wasters from actual rest. Rest gets its own time slot, no guilt. |
Two extra tips that help a lot:
- Use color. Red for Q1, green for Q2. Color lets your brain take it in at a glance.
- Keep the matrix in sight. A paper on the fridge or desk beats a file hidden on your phone.
On starting with the heaviest item in Q1, see Eat the Frog: The Technique, Made Gentler.
Printable Eisenhower matrix
The getfeito.com template is one sheet of US Letter paper with the four boxes already labeled in the gentler version, a 3-line limit on "Now," room for the mini version of each Q2 task, and a strip for the week's rest. If you prefer to plan the whole week at once, pair the matrix with the Printable Weekly Planner (a Free No-Guilt Version).
Frequently asked questions
How does the Eisenhower matrix work?
You classify each task as urgent or not, and important or not. That produces four boxes: do now, schedule, delegate or shrink, and let go.
Which quadrant of the matrix is the most important?
Q2 (important and not urgent). That's where health, study, planning, and relationships live. People who take care of it have fewer emergencies later.
How many tasks should I put in "do now"?
Few. In the gentler version, the limit is 3. If you have more, the extras get a day and time in Q2.
Does the Eisenhower matrix work for studying?
It does. Upcoming exams and assignments with deadlines go in Q1; reviews, summaries, and regular practice go in Q2 with a fixed time.
Make yours now
Grab a sheet of paper, draw a cross, and put today's tasks in the four boxes. Choose just 3 for "now" and start with the ugliest one.