The Project Portfolio Matrix – How to Maintain an Overview

Are you juggling several projects simultaneously? Then you are what’s known as a “slasher.”

The term, coined by New York author Marci Alboher, describes a growing number of people who can’t give a single answer to the question: “What do you do for a living?” You might be a teacher / musician / web designer. The variety can be energizing, but it also raises key questions:
How do you balance all your projects? And how can you ensure a stable income while doing so?

To regain clarity, you can use a simple yet powerful tool: The Project Portfolio Matrix. This model helps you assess your current projects—professional and personal—along two axes. Traditionally, these are:

• Cost (not just financial, but also energy, time, stress, and involvement of others)

• Time (how long the project takes or how urgent it is)

But you can customize the matrix with axes that better reflect your personal goals. For example:

• X-axis: How much is this project helping me achieve my main objective?

• Y-axis: How much am I learning from this project?

Now, place each of your projects on the matrix. Then interpret the results:

How to interpret your project positions:

• Low Learning / Low Alignment: Reject these. They drain you and lead nowhere.

• High Learning / Low Alignment: These projects are stimulating but won’t move you toward your long-term goal. Can you adapt them to serve your vision?

• Low Learning / High Alignment: These are aligned but stagnant. Delegate or automate if possible.

• High Learning / High Alignment: Jackpot! These are the projects that deserve your time and energy.

This matrix helps you stop reacting and start steering your portfolio of commitments more intentionally.

/Inspired by “The Decision Book: 50 Models for Strategic Thinking” by Mikael Krogerus and Roman Tschäppeler.