January 29, 2021

Be Like Ike. Prioritize with the Eisenhower Box

Everyone has a productivity hack, app, tool, method, process, or magic bullet. Some are complicated, and some are simple (Just do it!).

One that's been around for a while, proven to work, super simple, and battle tested. The Einstein Box was named by former US President and Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force in Europe – Dwight D. Eisenhower.

The good ol' Eisenhower Box. Or Eisenhower Matrix, if you're fancy.

• Eisenhower's strategy for taking action and organizing tasks is simple. A 4-square box helps you prioritize (and delegate) tasks based on four possibilities.
• Urgent and important. Do these immediately.
• Important, but not urgent. These you schedule for later.
• Urgent, but not important. If you can, delegate these tasks to someone else.
• Neither urgent nor important. These tasks you can eliminate. Unless they're fun, then you find time to squeeze them in. Schitt's Creek, anyone?

At our medical marketing firm, we use this strategy for everything from features on your new website to Public Relations planning to decide who gets the party invite.