--- title: "Eisenhower Matrix" description: "Sort your tasks into the four Eisenhower quadrants and see what to do first, what to schedule, what to hand off, and what to drop. Runs in your browser." url: https://findutils.com/productivity/eisenhower-matrix/ category: productivity --- # Eisenhower Matrix Sort your tasks into the four Eisenhower quadrants and see what to do first, what to schedule, what to hand off, and what to drop. Runs in your browser. **Use this tool:** [Eisenhower Matrix](https://findutils.com/productivity/eisenhower-matrix/) ## Programmatic access - REST id `eisenhower-matrix`: POST https://api.findutils.com/api/tools/eisenhower-matrix/execute (reference: https://findutils.com/api/eisenhower-matrix/) - MCP tool `eisenhower_matrix` on https://mcp.findutils.com (reference: https://findutils.com/mcp/eisenhower-matrix/) ## Why use the Eisenhower Matrix? A flat to-do list tells you what there is to do, but not what to do next, so the loudest task wins rather than the most valuable one. The Eisenhower Matrix separates two things people collapse together: urgency, which is about a deadline, and importance, which is about consequence. Once tasks are split along both axes, the decisions become mechanical. Urgent and important gets done now. Important but not urgent gets a date, and this is the quadrant most people starve until it becomes a crisis. Urgent but not important is where other people's priorities live, and it is the first place to look for something to hand off. Neither means it should not be on the list at all. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is the difference between urgent and important? Urgent is about time: a deadline is close, so the task demands attention now. Important is about consequence: doing it moves something you care about forward. They are independent, which is the whole point of the matrix. A ringing phone is urgent and often unimportant. Writing next quarter's plan is important and, until the last week, not urgent at all. ### What are the four quadrants? Do First is urgent and important, and you handle it yourself now. Schedule is important but not urgent, and it gets a date rather than a vague intention. Delegate is urgent but not important, and it goes to someone else where that is possible. Eliminate is neither, and it comes off the list. ### How does the tool decide a task is urgent? If you tick Urgent, that is used. If you leave it alone and give the task a due date, the task becomes urgent once the date is within the window you set, which defaults to two days, and anything already overdue is treated as urgent. A task with no due date and no tick is not urgent. ### Can I move a task to a different quadrant? Yes. Change the Urgent or Important marks on the task and it moves. An explicit Urgent mark always wins over the due date, so you can keep a deadline on a task you have decided is not actually pressing. ### Does my task list leave my device? No. The sorting runs in your browser and your tasks are not sent to FindUtils. The same logic is also published as a REST and MCP endpoint for scripts and AI agents, but that is a separate service you would call deliberately; the page you are reading does not use it. ### Can I import a list I already have? Yes. Paste one task per line. Add !u to mark a line urgent, !i to mark it important, and a date in YYYY-MM-DD form to set a due date. Lines that hold no text are skipped, and if nothing in the paste can be read as a task the tool says so rather than silently adding nothing. ### How is this different from the other prioritization tools here? This one sorts a to-do list on urgency against importance. The Dev Request Prioritizer scores a product backlog on value against effort using RICE, ICE, WSJF or MoSCoW. The Tech Debt Register weighs severity against the hours a fix costs. Same shape of grid, three different questions. ### Do I need an account? No. There is no sign-up, no email, and no limit on how many tasks you sort. ## Related Tools - [Dev Request Prioritizer](https://findutils.com/productivity/dev-request-prioritizer/) - [Technical Debt Register](https://findutils.com/productivity/tech-debt-register/) - [Scope Creep Tracker](https://findutils.com/productivity/scope-creep-tracker/) - [Sprint Capacity Calculator](https://findutils.com/productivity/sprint-capacity-calculator/) - [Decision Tree Builder](https://findutils.com/productivity/decision-tree-builder/) - [Workflow Builder](https://findutils.com/productivity/workflow-builder/)