Within this study use of the Eisenhower time management matrix was shown to help prioritise tasks more effectively and led to better work performance (Pertti, & Zafarullah, 2017). Careful planning, better preparation, and good prioritisation of tasks has been shown to lead to better work performance. Research has shown that a good time management can improve work productivity and commitment, as well as reducing work related stress and anxiety.Ī study conducted by Pertti, & Zafarullah titled “Effect of Time Management on the Job Satisfaction and Motivation of Teacher Educators: A Narrative Analysis” found that when teachers where given time management training they were able to perform their roles as teachers more effectively. Time management can be a very useful skill.

These tasks should be ignored or eliminated. Not urgent and not important: Actions such as procrastination or destructive behaviour.These tasks should either be made less frequent in the future. If this can't be done than it may be necessary to evaluate if time should be spent on this task. It’s best to avoid letting these tasks interfere with important ones, and therefore should be delegated or rescheduled if possible. A task belonging to this category could be responding to messages or requests from other people. Urgent, but not important: these tasks often come from other people.However, this is not always the case and if one of these tasks can be completed soon without getting in the way of urgent tasks, then it should. These tasks often take a long time and potentially multiple sessions to complete. Examples of these types of tasks could be later stage assessment items, maintenance work, personal paperwork, or even more creative aspirations such as writing a book, or creating music. It can be helpful to schedule these tasks in calendars, monthly planners, or diaries to keep track of them (Bast, 2016). Important but Not Urgent: these tasks should be scheduled to be done when there is time to do so, in order to ideally have them done, or mostly done, before they become urgent.The Eisenhower matrix can be used to help with this. It’s usually best to avoid having tasks reach this stage if possible. Examples include upcoming school assessments, emergencies such as fire, or unexpected car repairs. Urgent and important: these tasks are given the highest priority and should be completed as soon as possible.The Eisenhower matrix prioritises tasks into four groups based on these two characteristics (see Figure 1) (Bast, 2016 Kirillov, et al 2015 Makouet, et al, 2019).įigure 1. Important tasks are those that contribute to our goals, and therefore must ideally be completed on time and in full. 14) Urgent problems are problems with fast approaching deadlines and require immediate attention in order to be completed. The urgent are not important, and the important are never urgent.' (Makouet, et al, 2019, p. He is known for making the statement that he has 'two kinds of problems: the urgent and the important.

It was originally devised by the 34 th President of the United States, Dwight Eisenhower. It can be used effectively to improve time management and productivity (Makouet, et al, 2019). The Eisenhower matrix is a time management tool used to organise tasks based on their urgency and importance. What is the underlying theory behind the Eisenhower Matrix and time management?.What are the effects of good time management?.What is the Eisenhower Matrix and how can it improve time management?.

Proper utilization of time management techniques such as the Eisenhower matrix can be used by anyone to improve productivity and avoid procrastination. By integrating time management with motivation theory we can better understand how it is used to work toward and achieve our goals. The Eisenhower matrix is an effective resource that can be used to improve time management (Bast, 2016). It's becoming more important to complete tasks effectively and on time. Work and study tasks have become more urgent with stricter deadlines. Time management is becoming an ever increasing necessity for successful performance.

4 Time management and motivation theory.

Eisenhower matrix prioritization