Eisenhower's Urgent/Important Principle. How to Focus on Your Priorities. "I have two kinds of problems: the urgent and the important. The urgent are not important, and the important are never urgent." Dwight D. Eisenhower, U.S. President, 1953 to 1961. [1] It's easy to spend all our time on urgent tasks that need immediate attention. But this means that important tasks can get pushed aside. By sorting tasks into urgent and important you can start to prioritize what really matters. First, make a list of all the things you need to do, no matter how large or small. Then, put each task or activity into one of the following four categories: Urgent and Important. These are the most important tasks and should take priority. For example, answering an urgent email inquiry from a top customer, or writing a crucial report on time. Important but Not Urgent. These activities help you to achieve your long-term goals and aspirations, in your work and personal life. For example, gaining a qualification that helps you to
progress in your career. Not Important but Urgent. These are the tasks that can hold you back from reaching your goals. This could be meetings, excessive demands from co-workers, or taking phone calls. Not Important and Not Urgent. Do you constantly check your social media or messaging apps? These types of activities are usually just distractions, and should be your lowest priority. Now that you've categorized your tasks, you can schedule them based on their importance and urgency.

References
[1] Eisenhower, D.W. (1954) "Address at the Second Assembly of the World Council of Churches, Evanston, Illinois," August 19, 1954. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. Available at: https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/address-the-second-assembly-the-world-council-churches-evanston-illinois 

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