Free Priority To-Do List: ABCDE Method, Urgent-Important Quadrants and Ivy Lee Six (PDF, Word, Excel)

What is on the priority to-do list

ABCDE grades

A: serious consequences if not done. B: mild consequences. C: no real consequence. D: someone else can do it. E: stop doing it. Number within each grade (A-1, A-2) to set the order.

Consequence column

What happens if the task slips. Writing it down is what makes the grading honest.

Four quadrants

Urgent and important (do now), important not urgent (schedule a time), urgent not important (delegate or batch), neither (drop).

Six ranked tasks

The Ivy Lee method: six tasks for tomorrow, written tonight, in strict order. Two lists per page.

Started and done

On the Ivy Lee list, the time you started each task and a tick when it is finished.

Three ways to decide what comes first

Every prioritization method answers the same question: of everything on the list, what deserves your best hours? They differ in how they ask it. The ABCDE method asks about consequences: what happens if this does not get done? The urgent-important quadrants ask about time pressure versus value which helps separate the loud tasks from the important ones. The Ivy Lee method skips the theory and forces a ranking of six, then insists on doing them in order. Try each for a week and keep the one that changes what you actually do.

The ABCDE method

Write down everything, then put a letter beside each task. A tasks have serious consequences if they're not done: a deadline with a client, a renewal, a filing, a commitment to your manager. B tasks have mild consequences: someone is inconvenienced, something slips a little. C tasks are pleasant or useful but nothing bad happens if they wait. D tasks can be delegated, and E tasks can be eliminated entirely. Never do a B task while an A task is undone. Within the As, number them A-1, A-2 and so on, and start with A-1. The consequence column on the sheet is there to stop everything becoming an A.

The urgent and important quadrants

Urgent tasks demand attention now; important tasks move your goals forward. The two are often confused which is why the busiest people can end a week with nothing important done. Sort every task into one of four boxes. Do the urgent-and-important box first. Give each item in the important-not-urgent box a specific time this week, because those are the tasks (planning, training, relationships, prevention) that never become urgent until it's too late. Hand the urgent-not-important box to someone else or batch it into one short slot. Cross off the fourth box and mean it. The task priority matrix is a larger version for team planning.

The Ivy Lee method

The story goes that in 1918 a productivity consultant named Ivy Lee gave the president of Bethlehem Steel a simple routine. At the end of each working day, write down the six most important things to do tomorrow, no more. Rank them by importance. The next day, work on the first until it's finished before moving to the second. At the end of the day, move anything unfinished to the new list of six. It works because it removes decisions from the morning, limits the list, and forces single-tasking. The half-page format here gives you two days per sheet.

Editing the files

In Word, change the grade labels, relabel the quadrants (some teams use "do, plan, delegate, delete") or change six tasks to five. In Excel, the ABCDE list sorts by grade so the As come to the top. All three have fillable PDFs. For the full day with a schedule, see the daily planner; for a plain list, the to-do list template.

Questions

What is the ABCDE method?

A prioritization method where each task gets a letter: A (serious consequences if not done), B (mild consequences), C (nice to do), D (delegate) and E (eliminate). You work through the As in order before touching a B.

What are the four quadrants of priority?

Urgent and important (do now), important but not urgent (schedule), urgent but not important (delegate), and neither urgent nor important (drop). It's usually called the Eisenhower matrix.

What is the Ivy Lee method?

Each evening, write the six most important tasks for the next day in order of importance. The next day, work through them strictly in order, one at a time, and carry unfinished tasks to the next list.

Which prioritization method is best?

The one you keep using. ABCDE suits long lists with real deadlines, the quadrants suit people overwhelmed by interruptions, and Ivy Lee suits people who struggle to focus on one thing.

Can I fill these in on screen?

Yes. All three are fillable PDFs, and the Word and Excel versions are editable.