Impact / Effort Matrix

Triage work into Quick Wins, Big Bets, Fill-ins and Time Sinks on a 2×2.

ITEMS · 5

Impact8

Effort2

Impact9

Effort9

Impact3.5

Effort2.5

Impact3

Effort8

Impact7

Effort5.5

IMPACT →

QUICK WINS

BIG BETS

FILL-INS

TIME SINKS

Fix login bug

AI assistant

Dark theme

Rebuild billing

Slack integration

EFFORT →

What is Impact / Effort Matrix?

The impact/effort matrix plots each idea by the value it delivers against the work it takes, splitting them into four quadrants so it's obvious what to do first.

How to read your result

Quick Wins (high impact, low effort) — do these first.
Big Bets (high impact, high effort) — plan and resource deliberately.
Fill-ins (low impact, low effort) — do them between bigger work.
Time Sinks (low impact, high effort) — question or drop them.

Frequently asked questions

How does the impact/effort matrix work?

Score each item on impact and effort, then place it on a 2×2 grid. The quadrant it lands in tells you whether to prioritize, plan, defer, or drop it.

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