Eisenhower Matrix

The Product Manager's Guide to the Eisenhower Matrix

Stop Building Features Nobody Wants

Learn the prioritization framework that helps you balance user needs, business goals, and technical debt - while shipping products that actually matter.

Free printable Eisenhower Matrix templates for product managers. No email required.

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What is the Eisenhower Matrix?

A Framework That Speaks Product Language

Created by President Eisenhower, this decision-making tool helps you sort the signal from the noise by categorizing work based on urgency and importance.

Q1: DO NOW

Urgent & Important

Critical issues - address immediately

Example: Production bug, security issue, launch blocker

Q2: SCHEDULE

Not Urgent & Important

Strategic work - protect this time

Example: User research, roadmap planning, vision work

Q3: DELEGATE

Urgent & Not Important

Others' urgencies - push back or delegate

Example: Feature requests, status updates, most meetings

Q4: DELETE

Not Urgent & Not Important

Distractions - eliminate ruthlessly

Example: Nice-to-haves, feature creep, vanity metrics

Why Product Managers Need the Eisenhower Matrix

🎯

Ship What Matters

Stop building features that die in production. Focus on high-impact work that moves metrics.

🛡️

Defend Your Time

Create boundaries around strategic work. Not every stakeholder emergency is your emergency.

📊

Data-Driven Decisions

Replace opinion-based prioritization with a clear framework backed by impact analysis.

Start in 3 Simple Steps

1

Download & Print

Choose your format below

2

List Everything

Features, bugs, meetings, research

3

Apply PM Lens

Sort by user impact & business value

Eisenhower Matrix for Product Managers

Free Printable Eisenhower Matrix Templates for Product managers

Built by PMs, for PMs who ship

📄

Word

Editable template with PM examples

Download Word
📊

PowerPoint

Perfect for sprint planning sessions

Download PowerPoint
📑

PDF

Print-ready with prioritization guide

Download PDF

When You're Ready: Go Digital

All the benefits of paper, plus PM superpowers

Voice Input During Standups

"Add investigate payment bug urgent important"

Scenario: Capture tasks without breaking conversation flow

Voice Capture

Transcript:

"Research competitor pricing model next sprint"

AI Parsed Result:

Task: Research competitor pricing model

Due: Next sprint

Quadrant: Q2 - Important/Not Urgent

Color by Product Area

Visual organization across multiple products

Scenario: Blue for Platform, Green for Mobile, Yellow for API

Platform

User permissions redesign

Mobile

Push notification bug

API

Rate limiting implementation

Multiple Product Boards

Separate matrices for different products or quarters

Scenario: Q1 Roadmap, Technical Debt, Innovation Projects

Q1 Roadmap Tasks

Payment integrationUser onboarding v2Analytics dashboard

Attach PRDs & Specs

Keep requirements, mocks, and data with tasks

Scenario: Never hunt for that spec doc again

Task Attachments

Payment_Flow_PRD_v2.pdf

245 KB • PDF Document

API_Specification.docx

128 KB • Word Document

Mobile_Mockup_Final.jpg

1.2 MB • Image

Pro tip: All attachments are securely stored and can be viewed directly in the app without downloading.

Sprint Recurring Tasks

Sprint planning, retros, stakeholder syncs - automated

Scenario: Set your PM rituals once

March 2024

S
M
T
W
T
F
S
25
26
27
28
29
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

Weekly Quizzes (Auto-recurring)

Team Meetings (Every Tuesday)

Sync Across Devices

Office desktop, home laptop, phone - always current

Scenario: Update during commute, review in meetings
9:41 AM

Eisenhower Matrix

DO FIRST

Product-market fit pivots

Due today

First customer onboarding

Urgent

Critical early bugs

2:00 PM
SCHEDULE

User discovery interviews

Next week

MVP definition

March 15
DELEGATE

Investor update decks

Delegate

Legal documentation

Get help
DELETE

Feature requests from advisors

Skip

Ready to use the Eisenhower Matrix to keep you sane?

🖨️

Start with Paper

Download templates and start today

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Eisenhower Matrix

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