Setting up the basic matrix in Notion
Okay so first things first, if you’re trying to actually use the Eisenhower Matrix in Notion — not just have a pretty aesthetic page that does nothing — start simple. I’ve tried like five different templates over the last year and every single one ended up too clunky. One even had a database dependency I couldn’t locate, so every time I duplicated it, the links broke. Fun times 🙂
Here’s what I ended up doing when I wanted a version that didn’t break if I so much as sneezed on the filters:
1. **Create a database** — I used a board view; Notion calls it a “Board – by Status” when you create a database from scratch.
2. **Rename the board columns**:
– Urgent and Important
– Not Urgent but Important
– Urgent but Not Important
– Not Urgent and Not Important
(Yes, it’s wordy. Do it anyway. Trust me, your brain will thank you at 3am when you’re confused about which box is which.)
3. **Remove the Status property** and instead make a Select property called “Quadrant” and use the same 4 values as the column names above. Now connect the board view to filter based on Quadrant.
That’s it. It’s a board that shows the four Eisenhower Matrix quadrants, aligned with real properties — so you can view this data later in Timeline or Calendar view if you want.
You don’t need icons, you don’t need Notion formulas (yet), and you *definitely* don’t need a 75-row template pre-filled with sample values. Just make it like this first. Don’t overcommit on your first build.
Understanding which tasks go where
Let me be blunt: this is the part where people totally mess up. I did too. At first I was throwing everything into Urgent and Important because the thought of not responding to emails = work emergency, right? Wrong.
Here’s the actual breakdown I started using after my third burnout:
– **Urgent and Important** → Short deadline AND serious consequences. Think: “Client presentation is in 3 hours and PowerPoint crashed.”
– **Not Urgent but Important** → Long-term value, no one’s screaming at you yet. Writing documentation, updating automations, backing up Notion.
– **Urgent but Not Important** → Noisy tasks. Replying to those Slack messages immediately so your red dot goes away, scheduling dentist appointments (even though it’s pretty crucial later).
– **Not Urgent and Not Important** → I drop these in a separate list. This is where my random Zapier experiments go, or that idea I had for color-coding my Google Calendar by mood.
When unsure, I ask one question: Will this affect future me in 3 weeks if I don’t do it now? If yes — probably deserves to be in Important. If not, congrats, it goes to the mental trash pile ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Adding deadline visibility to matrix tasks
Here’s where the Eisenhower Matrix in Notion usually falls apart for people: time.
Most setups only show tasks sorted into boxes — but they don’t sort them *by date*. So what happens? You end up checking Urgent and Important, but everything’s mixed from this morning to next month.
You absolutely need to add a **Date property** and then use filters. I created a filtered view called **Due Within 3 Days** — which works like triage.
Here’s how to set that filter:
– Open your board view
– Click the **…** menu in the top right > **Filter**
– Add filter where `Date is within the next 3 days`
Now you can copy this view and make a quick high-stress checklist. I also have a version that’s grouped by date, not quadrant, so I can see what’s coming up this week vs next.
Bonus: if you’re using Notion AI, you can even generate short blurbs for “Why this is important” in each task. Not 100% accurate, but it made me look like I cared more during team meetings 😬
Linking dependencies between matrix tasks
This one’s a little niche but if you use Eisenhower Matrix for project work (vs just life admin), this saved me:
Let’s say you have one big Important but Not Urgent task — like writing new onboarding docs. Inside that task, maybe you’ve got subtasks:
– Interview current support team
– Identify knowledge gaps
– Draft structure
– Review with legal
Instead of stuffing all that in the description or trying to indent things (which Notion doesn’t actually support the way you think), I made a **Linked Tasks** Relation property, linking back to the same database.
So you:
– Create 4 smaller tasks as normal
– Tag them as Urgent or Not Urgent based on their real timing
– Then in the big parent task, use the Linked Tasks property and connect each one
It’s messy at first but it feels a lot like Airtable-style referencing. I didn’t expect this to work as well as it did, but now I check the parent task and actually see where things are blocked.
One thing to watch for: if you set up this relationship after tasks already exist, Notion doesn’t auto-backfill anything. You’ll need to go back one by one and manually connect them. Just leave a note to yourself, or you’ll forget why something isn’t showing up next week 😛
What to automate inside the matrix
I did not expect to make a Notion-gmail-Zapier sandwich just to sort my priorities, and yet here we are.
Here’s what I automated successfully:
**1. Zapier trigger from starred Gmail task → Notion**
– My Zap checks Gmail once an hour
– If I star an email, it auto-creates a Notion task in the Eisenhower Matrix database with default tags
– I tag it as “Urgent but Not Important” 95% of the time, because it’s usually me reacting to someone else’s urgency
**2. Google Calendar events into Notion**
– I tried to do this with Zapier and repeatedly ran into Notion API rate limits, so I switched to Make.com
– The data still gets duplicated once in a while (yes, even now; I have no idea why)
– I use this to drop calendar items into “Not Urgent but Important” so they’re reviewable outside of my calendar
**3. Notion AI recap of overdue tasks**
– This is new. Once a task is overdue by 3 days, I set up a formula property that checks `now()` against the due date
– If overdue, it triggers a Notion AI summary task
It’s a lot, and it *always* breaks the day before a deadline, but when it works, it’s magic.
Color coding for quick scanning
Notion doesn’t let you actually color full cards yet, but here’s how I made something readable at a glance:
– Set the Quadrant select colors deliberately:
– Red = Urgent and Important
– Yellow = Not Urgent but Important
– Blue = Urgent but Not Important
– Gray = Not Urgent and Not Important
Then sort your board to group by **Quadrant**, not by Status.
Next, use emojis (I KNOW) at the beginning of Task name, like:
– 🔥 Final SOW Revisions
– 🧠 New Blog Draft Template
Even that tiny emoji helps my brain know what kind of mindset I’m in. If I see 3 🔥s lined up, I drop what I’m doing. If I see a lot of 📌’s, I know it’s maintenance.
This may feel silly, but without this visual layer, everything just looks the same. I use compact board cards, so without this, it gets flat and unreadable real fast.
Making the matrix mobile friendly
Using the Eisenhower Matrix layout in the Notion mobile app is not great. The columns get squished, and when I tried to reorder anything by dragging on my iPhone, I accidentally moved entire cards to the wrong quadrant 😭
So I built a **second list view**, filtered to only show:
– Tasks due this week
– Sorted by Quadrant
This view is friendly for tapping through one by one. You lose the visual of the 2×2 box layout, yes, but you actually regain sanity. It’s fast. You can open a task, tap the Quadrant property, change it, hit back. That’s the workflow.
I intentionally hid the board view on mobile and just pinned the list view to mobile favorites. Don’t fight the UI; embrace what works.
Making recurring tasks actually work
Recurring tasks in Notion aren’t built in unless you use templates or automate them. Here’s what I landed on:
For weekly recurring tasks (like reviewing my Inbox, following up with leads, clearing bugs), I have a template section at the bottom of the database with a filter that hides those from the board.
Then every Friday, I duplicate that section and adjust dates. I know there’s a better way to set all this up with Make.com or similar — but every time I tried, some field didn’t carry over. One time the duplicated item didn’t even have a Quadrant set, so it just ghosted itself ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I manually do the first copy, then the automation fills in due dates and logs when I last completed it. Weird system, but it kept working. No idea why — something about resetting the template state?
And yeah, Notion’s “template button” doesn’t really work in databases, so don’t bother there. You’ll be better off using relational links and regular old human clicking.