Impact vs Effort Matrix

About this template

Impact vs Effort matrix template

Use this impact vs. effort matrix to evaluate your activities based on the effort and the level of impact they will have.

The activities are divided into four categories:

High efforts & High impact activities

High efforts & Low impact activities

Low efforts & Low impact activities

Low effort & High impact activities

High efforts & High impact activities will bring you long-term profit but can be more difficult to execute. These are your major projects.

High efforts & Low impact activities are time wasters. They will require a lot of effort but will not offer you the impact you need. Try not to concentrate on this type of activity.

Low efforts & Low impact activities do not require a lot of effort, but also do not offer many benefits.

Low effort & High impact activities are the best of all of them, also called the quick wins. Focus on completing these ones first.

Efforts vs Impact Matrix

The Effort vs Impact Matrix is a simple yet powerful tool to make clear what all your priorities should be.

Low efforts & Low impact

Fill ins

Don’t require a lot of effort but neither do they offer many benefits.

Low effort & High impact

Quick wins

Activities that give the best return based on the effort. They are valuable and fundamental to your success. Focus on these actions and complete them before anything else.

High efforts & Low impact

Not worth it

Time-consuming activities with low impact that should be avoided.

Time wasters

High efforts & High impact

Major projects

Provide long term profit but may be more complex to execute.