What is the Graph tool?
The graph tool is a tool that is used to determine which projects are a top priority by using a graph. The graph has the two axes labeled. The y-axis is labeled as the # days until the project is due, and the x-axis is labeled as the approximate # of hours of work needed to complete the project. Projects will be used as data points to turn the graph into a scatter plot, each point should be filled in like this (# of hours of work needed to complete project, # days until due date). I would like to state that this graph is strictly meant for projects and not meant for an hour worth of homework.
Interpreting the Scatter Plot
Now if you look at the graph and draw two lines y = 3 (three days until due date) and x = 5 (requires 5 hours of work). This cuts the graph into four quadrants (see the graph below). The first projects to prioritize are any points that fall in the red shaded area because they require a lot of time and the due date for them is approaching. If a project falls into this shaded area, that project should immediately become your priority. You should next prioritize projects in the orange shaded area, while simultaneously any project approaching the red shaded area from the yellow shaded area. Following the orange shaded projects are the projects that fall into the yellow shaded area. These projects are ones that you should be working on discretely while working on all other projects. The last thing to prioritize is anything that falls into the green shaded area, you should work on these only if all other projects are completed or if it can be done super quickly.
Note: You should be updating the graph at the absolute minimum of once a day (as the y value decreases by one at the end of each day). When you finish working on part of a project, you should the corresponding point to the number of hours remaining to finish the project.