Page 244 - Foundations of Learning, 4th Edition (Revised)

for a different purpose. Use the Action Priority Matrix to help you decide what type of task is the
most rewarding and efficient use of your time, as you strive to meet your goals. The Matrix can
also be used as a way to take your time management pulse—to see what kinds of projects or tasks
take up the majority of your time.

High Quick Major
IMPACT Wins Projects

Busy Running
Work in Place

Low

Low EFFORT High

Impact (the vertical axis) is the degree to which the task will advance your goals.

If your goal is earning a high grade on a math test, a high-impact task might be reviewing your
graded assignments and practicing any problems where you made mistakes.

For the same goal of a high grade on a math test, a low-impact task might include sharpening
a couple of extra pencils for use during the test. Or, in the words of Henry David Thoreau,
“It’s not enough to be busy, so are the ants. The question is, what are we busy about?”

Effort (the horizontal axis) is the amount of time and energy required to accomplish a task.

Sharpening pencils is generally a low-effort task (unless you don’t have a pencil sharpener).
Creating a table of the types of errors you find yourself making when solving math problems,
on the other hand, is a much higher-effort task.

Tips for using the Action Priority Matrix:

• Create a version of the Matrix that has space in all four squares where you can write down tasks
that you need or want to accomplish

• Keep your Matrix with you so that you can add tasks as they occur to you

• Remember that the Matrix doesn’t tell you what you should do; it is only a tool to help you
categorize your activities so that you can decide the most efficient and impactful use of your
time.

238 Foundations of Learning