A famous general had too much to do. His simple idea about time became four boxes that millions of people use today.
Harder version: read this lesson at B2 level →
Ten items. Say your answer out loud before you reveal it.
Read the sentence. Say what the word in bold means. Then check.
The words are: waste · delay · decision. Read the meaning and say the word.
One word fits all three phrases. Say the word.
Read each part. After it, answer the quick check from memory, then discuss one question.
Dwight Eisenhower was an American general. In 1944, in the Second World War, he had a very big job. He had to plan the invasion of France. Thousands of ships, planes and soldiers waited for his decision.
The plan was for 5 June. But the weather was terrible, so Eisenhower had to postpone it. Then the weather experts told him about a short break in the storm. He listened, asked questions, and said yes. On 6 June, the soldiers landed in France.
In his pocket he had a short note. It said: if the plan fails, it is my fault. He never used the note.
1. What was Eisenhower's job in 1944?
2. Why did he postpone the plan?
3. What did the note in his pocket say?
1. He was a general. He had to plan the invasion of France.
2. Because the weather was terrible.
3. That if the plan failed, it was his fault.
After the war, Eisenhower became President of the United States. Every day, hundreds of people wanted his time. He was famous for one idea about work: he protected his time and asked for short, clear reports.
In 1954 he gave a speech. In it he said: “I have two kinds of problems, the urgent and the important. The urgent are not important, and the important are never urgent.”
It is a strange sentence, but think about it. The phone is urgent. Your health is important. The phone always wins — and that is the problem.
1. What job did Eisenhower do after the war?
2. What are the two kinds of problems?
3. Which one usually wins?
1. He became President of the United States.
2. Urgent problems and important problems.
3. The urgent one — for example, the phone.
For many years, this was only a nice sentence. Then, in 1989, an American writer called Stephen Covey wrote a famous book about work and time. In the book he drew a picture: a square with four boxes.
One line asks: is it urgent? The other line asks: is it important? Every job goes in one box. Do it now, plan it for later, give it to someone else, or forget it.
People began to call it the Eisenhower Matrix. Today it is on millions of computers and phones — which is funny, because phones are the biggest problem of all.
1. Who drew the four boxes, and when?
2. What two questions do the boxes ask?
3. What are the four actions?
1. Stephen Covey, in a book in 1989.
2. Is it urgent? Is it important?
3. Do it now, plan it, give it to someone else, or forget it.
Two questions, four boxes. Is it urgent (soon)? Is it important (it really matters)? Each box tells you what to do.
Which box is it? Choose, then check.
1. Neither — it is not urgent and it is not important.
2. Urgent and important — it is very important and it cannot wait.
3. Important, not urgent — it is important, but nothing says “today”.
4. Urgent and important — a real time and a real problem.
5. Urgent, not important — it feels urgent, but it is not your job — give it away.
6. Important, not urgent — very important, but not urgent — so plan it.
You can't always give work away. A student or a parent often has nobody to give it to.
Important for who? Your boss and you may not agree.
Not everything is work. A long talk with a friend is in no box — but it can be the best part of the day.
This tool is about what you must do and what you don't have to do. Here is the grammar for it.
Write have to, has to, don't have to, doesn't have to or had to.
1. Tomorrow is a holiday, so we go to work.
2. My sister is a nurse. She work at night sometimes.
3. Last week my car broke, so I take the bus.
4. Children in my country go to school until they are sixteen.
5. The hotel is very relaxed. You wear a tie for dinner.
1. don't have to
2. has to
3. had to
4. have to
5. don't have to
Finish the sentences about your own life. Say them out loud, then write them.
1. Every morning I
2. At the weekend I
3. When I was a child, I
4. In my job (or at school), you
Example answers: 1. …have to check my messages. 2. …don't have to set an alarm. 3. …had to help in the house. 4. …have to be on time.
Now tell your teacher three things you have to do this week, and one thing you don't have to do.
Now use the four boxes in your life. Choose a task and talk. You can start the timer.
Say four things you have to do this week. Put one in each box.
What important thing do you always postpone? When could you do it?
How much of your phone time is urgent? How much is important? Be honest.