Cut the noise, keep the impact: Prioritize with matrices

How often do you complete a full day at work and say, “I was crazy busy today but didn’t accomplish anything I intended to do”? How many times have you, or your organization, failed to fully implement a major initiative — derailed by distractions, unexpected crises, or changing priorities? If that sounds familiar, you are not alone. Why do we repeatedly fall into the same trap of inaction? Often, it comes down to a straightforward concept: we fail to prioritize action and effort. In a world full of distractions, pop-up notifications, and digital noise — usually just inches from our fingertips — focus is hard to come by. The good news is that the solution to this problem is not complex. There are simple, structured matrix-based tools each of us can implement in our personal and professional lives to ensure we focus on what matters.

For simplicity’s sake, consider two types of decisions and actions: individual and organizational. For each, there is a proven matrix-based tool to help prioritize: 

• Eisenhower Matrix: Best for prioritizing individual tasks, such as completing your to-do list, planning your day, or avoiding getting bogged down with competing priorities.
• Priority Matrix: Best for managing organizational decision-making, this tool is most effective for evaluating and ranking initiatives during strategic planning, ensuring alignment with best practices, and following through on major goals.

The Eisenhower Matrix — for individuals

Popularized by President Dwight D. Eisenhower and later featured in Stephen Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, this matrix allows individuals to differentiate between urgent and important tasks.¹ The matrix is divided by two axes, urgency and importance, creating four quadrants:

1. Urgent and important — do these immediately.
2. Not urgent but important — schedule time for these.
3. Urgent but not important — delegate these.
4. Not urgent and not important — eliminate or avoid these.

Take the example of a practice director at a hospital-employed, multispecialty medical group — a role with countless priorities every day, many of them driven by others’ priorities. In this example, the practice director plots their tasks on the Eisenhower Matrix. For illustration, consider four typical obligations:

• A provider calls out sick.
• Next year’s budget is due.
• There are unresolved open charts from some providers.
• A support department schedules an extra meeting.

Urgent and important (Quadrant 1): When a provider calls out, patient care is directly affected. This requires immediate action from the practice director.

Not urgent but important (Quadrant 2): Next year’s budget isn’t due for a few weeks. However, it’s a crucial task that demands focused planning time. Without scheduling it intentionally, it may not get done properly. Covey emphasized that leaders should spend more time in this quadrant to prevent future crises.

Urgent but not important (Quadrant 3): The revenue cycle department asks the practice director to respond to open chart queries. This is not a high-value task for the practice director and can be delegated to an office coordinator or someone else.

Not urgent and not important (Quadrant 4): A non-core department schedules a supplemental meeting. While potentially informative, it doesn’t directly impact the practice director’s essential duties. In this case, and considering the Eisenhower Matrix, the practice director reasonably declines and asks a colleague for a summary instead.

A word of caution: It is easy to confuse urgency with importance. An issue or task may feel pressing, but it may just be urgent rather than truly important. The Eisenhower Matrix helps clarify that distinction and empowers individuals to take control of their time and focus.

The Priority Matrix — for organizations

Now consider a broader tool. The Priority Matrix is designed for organizational-level decision-making, particularly when choosing between competing initiatives and allocating limited resources. While the Eisenhower Matrix can work in organizational settings, the Priority Matrix is specifically tailored for strategic planning, project management, and performance improvement efforts.

This tool allows organizations to align what matters most with available resources, helping teams determine what to implement, when, and how. Like the Eisenhower Matrix, it uses a four-quadrant model — but the axes typically measure financial impact and ease of implementation (though these can be customized). One must define how to measure criteria and apply them equally to available project options. Here is an example:

• High impact/Low effort = Quick wins (top priority)
• High impact/High effort = Major projects (still important, but more complex)
• Low impact/Low effort = Fill-ins (do as time allows)
• Low impact/High effort = Lowest priority (often not worth pursuing immediately)

Consider a multispecialty medical group facing financial distress from declining reimbursements, labor shortages, and increasing expenses. Leadership identifies four potential actions to improve financial sustainability and uses a Priority Matrix to determine which to implement first.

• Improve copay collection — Benchmarking identifies that the current rate is 56%, well below the peer benchmark of 73.9%. This task requires little effort and promises a strong financial return. Quick win.
• Eliminate locum tenens coverage — A costly locum tenens physician occasionally takes weekend call, despite a full roster of call-taking physicians. Ending this contract would save money but requires provider buy-in and cultural adjustment. High-impact, high-effort project.
• Standardize medical supply orders — The current process allows staff to order based on preference. Standardization would reduce waste with minimal disruption. Low-impact, low-effort initiative.
• Implement a no-show policy — Benchmarking shows that the practice’s no-show rate is 6% compared to a peer benchmark of 4.76%. One leader proposes charging a $50 fee for missed appointments to close the gap. This is a high-effort, low-impact initiative given the modest potential return. Lowest priority.

It is important not to overcomplicate the matrix. Avoid creating overly complex metrics that try to blend multiple variables — this may seem wise but can make prioritization less effective. Instead, focus on core goals of the organization and choose criteria that clearly support them. As teams become more familiar with using the tool, they will become more adept at identifying and defining the most appropriate metrics and how to adjust the matrix to fit their needs.

Conclusion

The Eisenhower and Priority matrices are two straightforward tools that can significantly sharpen your focus and improve outcomes.

The Eisenhower Matrix is ideal for personal productivity, helping individuals gain clarity and control over daily tasks. Use it to better manage your time, avoid distractions, and concentrate on what truly matters. The Priority Matrix, on the other hand, is designed for organizational decision-making. It helps teams evaluate competing initiatives, align actions with strategic goals, and make the most of limited resources.

When you begin using the matrices, start small. Try applying the Eisenhower Matrix to your personal to-do list or use the Priority Matrix to assess your team’s current initiatives. Ask yourself: Are we focusing too much on urgent but low-value tasks? Are we investing effort in areas that yield minimal impact?

If so, prioritize the non-urgent but important work that drives long-term success, and the high-impact, low-effort actions that deliver quick wins. By consistently using these tools, you will not only work smarter — you will also lead with greater intention, efficiency, and impact. 

Note:

1. Covey S. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change. 25th anniversary ed. New York: Simon & Schuster; 2013.