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The action priority matrix

As a coach, you may face a lot of tasks. Using the action priority matrix can help you stay on top of the ones that matter most.

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England Football Learning

2 mins - Mar 16, 2026

We’ve all been there. Whether it’s at work or your club, sometimes the to-do list can be a little bit overwhelming.

That’s where the action priority matrix comes in. It helps you prioritise tasks based on their impact and the effort required to complete them. Then you know which ones are the most important to focus on, and which you can delegate, remove, or push back.

A graph with effort along the x-axis and impact along the y-axis. Then it is split into four equal blocks. Quick wins in the top-left; Major projects in the top-right; Fill ins in the bottom-left; Thankless tasks in the bottom-right.A graph with effort along the x-axis and impact along the y-axis. Then it is split into four equal blocks. Quick wins in the top-left; Major projects in the top-right; Fill ins in the bottom-left; Thankless tasks in the bottom-right.

The action priority matrix is split into four areas based on how much effort a task takes and how much impact it has.


The four areas are:

  • fill ins (low effort, low impact)
  • thankless tasks (high effort, low impact)
  • quick wins (low effort, high impact)
  • major projects (high effort, high impact).

To use it effectively, first list the tasks that you need to complete.


Once you have that list, work through each one. First score them on impact, where zero equals no impact, and ten equals maximum impact. Then use the same scale to evaluate the level of effort involved.


Using your results, you can then place them into the action priority matrix and see which area they fit into. Then you can prioritise the important tasks – those that are expected of you as a coach. And you can start to think about how to achieve them, and which tasks and responsibilities you could delegate to others, remove, or revisit later.

 

A coach wants to work on the following tasks across the season:

  • develop in-possession skills faster
  • make sessions more fun
  • make training run more smoothly
  • improve communication with parents and carers
  • organise friendlies or tournaments
  • create a clear team philosophy.

So, they use the action priority matrix to organise and prioritise them.


Quick wins

  • Improve communication with parents and carers.
    • Create a WhatsApp group to share session objectives with parents and carers.
    • Share a quick update after training of what went well and what needs to be worked on.
  • Make sessions more fun.
    • Start sessions with fun, player-led arrival activities.


Major projects

  • Develop in-possession skills faster.
  • Create a clear team philosophy.
  • Organise friendlies and tournaments.
  • Improve communication with parents.
    • Run a meeting to go over season aims, values, and behaviours.


Fill-ins

  • Make sessions more fun.
    • Create a team playlist of songs to play at training.
  • Make sessions run more smoothly.
    • Create an attendance sheet.


Thankless tasks

  • Make sessions run more smoothly
    • Pumping up the balls before training and matches.
    • Dealing with last-minute dropouts.
  • Improve communication with parents and carers.
    • Managing overly competitive parents and carers.

If you’re interested in this, check out these resources to learn more about working with others and planning:

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