Eisenhower matrix for study tasks

Drag each task into one of four boxes. Start with the box people skip: important, not urgent.

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Why this works

In five experiments, people chose to do tasks that only looked urgent over important tasks that paid more, even when the urgency was made up, such as a fake expiry. Reminding people of each task's payoff at the moment of choice made the effect smaller.

The matrix puts importance in front of you before you pick what to do next, which is the moment the research points to.

  • Source: Zhu, M., Yang, Y., & Hsee, C. K. (2018). The mere urgency effect. Journal of Consumer Research, 45(3), 673-690. doi:10.1093/jcr/ucy008

Worked example

A GATE week sorted
BoxTaskWhat to do
Urgent and importantSubmit the lab report due tomorrowDo it today
Important, not urgentRevise Laplace transforms for SignalsBook a time in your timetable
Urgent, not importantReply to the class group about notesKeep it short or hand it off
NeitherReorganise your bookmarksDrop it or leave it for later
When-and-where plannerPick the moment, the action and the place.Spaced revision schedulerAdd a topic and the day you learned it.Done todayAdd what you got done.

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