Matrices to help you manage your priorities

Reading time: 9 minutes

Back to school just started and you’re already feeling overwhelmedby the mountain of tasks ahead? Don’t panic! There are some simple, super-effective tools to help you manage your priorities.

Let’s tackle your never-ending to-do list using two well-known but often misunderstood methods: Eisenhower and effort-result matrices.

Do you like drawings, graphs or mindmaps? You’ll love it!

Priority management, essential to your productivity

In a world of ever-present distractions and ever-increasing expectations, knowing where to put your energy is vital.

Poor management of your priorities can lead to exhaustion, stress and reduced productivity. Good management, on the other hand, allows you to maximize your time and achieve your goals more effectively.

Among the most useful tools are two powerful matrices: the effort-result matrix and the Eisenhower matrix (“modified for Julie”).

What is a priority management matrix?

It’s a simple chart that helps organize and classify tasks or projects according to importance and urgency.

Unlike word lists (the famous to-do lists), which are purely intellectual, matrices are also visual. This gives you a better understanding of the scope of your work, at a glance.

This overview of what you need to achieve gives you the perspective you need to adjust your approach and strategies to your “real” priorities.

So you’re better able to make informed decisions and devote your energy to what’s really important.

(Matrices are also invaluable during group meetings or in a control room – obeya).

The effort-result matrix: minimum energy for maximum impact

If you want to quickly assess what to focus on first, I suggest you use the effort-result matrix.

Its concept is simple, but extremely powerful.

Here’s how to categorize them correctly:

1. Evaluate the effort required to accomplish a task. Ask yourself how much time, energy or resources it requires.
2. Analyze the results that flow from the task. This could include advancing your goals, financial benefits or improving your quality of life.
3. Place the task in the appropriate quadrant. This is where the magic happens. At a glance, you can see which tasks are the most profitable in terms of effort-result ratio.
4. Focus on your most profitable tasks first. Establish a logical order in which to carry them out.

Exploits the effort-result matrix to its full potential

Now that you understand how it works, here are a few tips to help you get the most out of the matrix.

Low effort, high results These tasks are the most profitable. They require little effort, but generate great results. Systematically prioritize them. They go to the top of your to-do list because they bring quick gains. Why wait? It’s so obvious that you were probably already doing it intuitively… It’s mainly the other boxes that need explaining.

High effort, high results These tasks deserve special attention. They’re important, but they can be intimidating because of the effort they require. This is true of projects, for example. The key to getting them right is to plan ahead. That’s why I advise you to set aside specific times in your calendar to devote to them. If possible, try to divide your project into smaller steps. It’ll seem easier. Also ask yourself if you can simplify or optimize certain tasks to move them into the “low effort” category. Sometimes, a minor adjustment can turn a heavy task into a much lighter one.

Low effort, low results These are the tasks we often put off until later. But you don’t have to ignore them. Try to do them in between projects or when you have a few minutes to spare. They can be on your to-do list, in your favorite task management application or in your bullet journal. Think of ways to improve results without increasing your efforts. Can they be automated, for example?

High effort, low results These tasks are the most frustrating, because they take a lot of energy and yield little in return. Although the temptation is strong to delete them from your list, I encourage you not to do so (unless, of course, they are no longer relevant to your approach). Again, by rethinking the way you approach them, you may find ways to reduce the effort they require… while increasing the results. After all, remember that not so long ago, people typed and mailed their messages…

The Eisenhower matrix

Eisenhower’s matrix, in its classic form, divides tasks into four categories:

• Important and urgent
• Important, but not urgent
• Not important, but urgent
• Not important and not urgent

Right off the bat, I have to tell you that this way of classifying tasks bothers me a little. Why is that? Because, by encouraging us to focus on what’s “important and urgent”, it perpetuates a work culture where emergencies are the norm, not the exception.

This triggers a vicious circle that encourages us to constantly postpone our current tasks in order to meet the new emergency. Don’t forget that anything left undone will eventually become… an emergency.

This is what I call “fireman mode” management: we’re constantly putting out fires rather than building something sustainable.

Eisenhower’s matrix revisited with a Julie twist

Is what’s important to you important to everyone?

During a discussion with Karyn Ross, co-author of the book “The Toyota Way for Service Excellence“, I realized that what was important to one was not necessarily important to the other.

So before deciding whether a task is important or not, take the time to get informed and assess the situation from the angles of each member of your team and/or each department.

By failing to do so, you risk causing problems… that could have been avoided.

Unfortunately, this is a common phenomenon in the corporate world. For example, when a project is on hold because one department is waiting for a response from another, which does not consider the task a priority. The loss of time – and money – is enormous.

Combine the two matrices for optimum management

Why do I suggest you use these two matrices together? Simple: they complement each other perfectly.

When it comes to planning tasks, the effort-result matrix will be the most beneficial. It enables you to group tasks according to their importance and level of effort.

Once you’ve taken action, it’s the Eisenhower matrix (the “Julie sauce” one’s even better!) that helps you prioritize them. That is, to choose the order in which you want to carry them out.

I invite you to incorporate them into your daily routine. You’ll see, they’re a power duo!

What exactly is a priority?

I can’t end this article without taking a few minutes to explain the meaning of the word priority.

By definition, a priority is “what comes first in time” (Antidote).

So keep it singular and put it at the top of your list.

Having several priorities is not only illogical, it’s also the perfect cocktail for creating confusion.

If you have other very important tasks to perform, prioritize them according to how important they are in achieving your goal.

Above all, never place them on an equal level in the order. Even if they are really equivalent.

Instead, place them arbitrarily one after the other. This will avoid creating a block in your brain.

Because to stay motivated and feel a sense of accomplishment, it’s essential that you focus every day on ONE priority task (and finish it).

Conclusion on priority management

As you can see, by using these two matrices together, you’ll find it much easier to navigate through your to-do lists.

Obviously, these are not miracle solutions.

However, the matrices provide you with a solid framework for making informed decisions and managing your time intelligently. The more you master these tools, the more effective you’ll become at work, and in your personal life too.

So, can you manage your priorities now? I trust you…

This content is available as a mini-training course (1h30).

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