Entrepreneurs face a unique challenge: everything feels urgent and important when you are responsible for all aspects of a growing business. This creates constant context-switching and reactive firefighting that crowds out strategic thinking. This Eisenhower Matrix template helps entrepreneurs distinguish between activities that build long-term value and those that merely demand immediate attention.
Respond to time-sensitive request from key investor
Investor relationships affect funding and survival—maintain confidence promptly.
Resolve legal issue threatening business operations
Legal problems escalate quickly—address before they compound.
Handle critical system failure during major launch
Launch-day issues directly affect revenue—all hands on deck.
Close deal with customer before competitive window closes
Sales opportunities have expiration dates—act while interest is hot.
Address urgent team crisis threatening key employee retention
Losing key people during growth phase can be existential—intervene fast.
Interview potential customers about their pain points
Customer discovery is the source of all future value—protect this time.
Develop and refine core business model and pricing
Business model clarity determines everything downstream—invest deeply.
Network with potential co-founders or key hires
Team building takes months—start before you desperately need someone.
Build systems that can operate without your direct involvement
Systematization creates leverage—you cannot scale by working harder.
Develop strategic partnerships before you need them urgently
Partnership relationships take time—cultivate proactively.
Respond to collaboration requests from strangers on LinkedIn
Create template responses—most cold outreach has low conversion.
Attend every webinar and industry summit
Passive learning rarely justifies time cost—be selective about events.
Tweak business cards, logos, and brand materials
Visual identity matters less than product-market fit—iterate later.
Respond to non-urgent vendor inquiries
Vendor communications can be batched—schedule response windows.
Attend networking events without clear purpose
Unfocused networking has low ROI—go with specific goals or skip.
Chasing new business ideas without validating current one
Shiny object syndrome kills startups—validate before pivoting.
Spending hours on automatable administrative tasks
Automate or outsource admin—your time builds value elsewhere.
Engaging in unproductive debates in online forums
Internet arguments don't build businesses—redirect that energy.
Comparing your startup to funded competitors obsessively
Competitive awareness helps; obsession distracts from execution.
Perfecting pitch decks instead of talking to customers
Pitch decks don't validate ideas—customer conversations do.
Save your progress and never lose track of your tasks
Tasks in this quadrant are highly important, and the deadline is right around the corner. It's like having a paper due tonight or a client's system suddenly going down. You have to drop everything else, get on it right now, and give it your full focus. This is your top priority.
This is the foundation for your long-term success. These are things that matter for your future but aren't urgent right now, like learning a new skill, exercising, or planning for next month. Because they're not urgent, they're easy to forget. What you need to do is put them on your schedule, set a fixed time for them, and stick to it.
These tasks may seem urgent, but they're not important to you. They're the kind that interrupt your flow, like unnecessary meetings or small favors others ask of you. The best approach is to let someone else handle them or deal with them quickly, and don't let them steal your valuable time.
Tasks in this quadrant are neither important nor urgent. They're purely a drain on your time and energy, like mindlessly scrolling on your phone. The best approach is simply not to do them, and save that time for the tasks in the Yellow quadrant.
"Thanks to 4todo, our hectic wedding schedule was perfectly organized."
"4todo was an indispensable helper on my long-distance hike."
"Helps me ignore the noise and focus on what moves my work forward."
Save this task list to your 4todo account and start prioritizing what matters most.
No credit card • setup less 1-minute