Theory of Constraints Handbook - James Cox Iii [718]
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After 7 days of recording daily objectives, activities, comments, and importance ranks, conduct this analysis.
1. Study your daily objectives. Are they realistic (can they be accomplished in one day) and measurable (can I tell when I am finished)? “To scan and read Chapter 3 of my history book” is a realistic and measurable objective. In contrast, “to study history” is a vague and immeasurable objective.
2. Rank your activities each day. Which activities were important to accomplishing your short-term objectives, unimportant to accomplishing your objectives, not applicable, but still important or a necessary condition activity? How much time fell into each of these categories?
3. Identify all activities that are travel, work, school, sleep, eating, and leisure. What percentage and how many hours each day were time wasters, as related to your daily objectives and longer-term goals?
4. Identify how you might eliminate or reduce these time-wasting activities.
5. Identify activities that you can control as well as those you cannot control but have to perform (necessary conditions).
6. Classify and study the interruptions that occur each day. Why did they occur?
7. List UDEs related to your ability to manage your time.
8. Analyze these UDEs to determine their causes.
9. Take steps to eliminate the underlying cause of these time wasters.
10. Complete this exercise every six months.
It should be noted that while this exercise might seem tedious, it takes very little time to do. At the same time it adds enormous value to your understanding and ability to plan effectively for one of your most valuable assets—your time.
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Developing a Detailed Implementation Plan to Accomplish Your Goals and Objectives
Time management is a skill that can benefit you throughout your professional and personal life. It provides you the opportunity to maintain a balance among your competing activities (personal, family, friends/community, work, and professional). Achieving your short- and long-term goals means developing a detailed implementation plan and being proactive in attacking your action plan. This action plan should be specific with respect to what, where, when, and how.
The first critical question, “What?” can be used in two ways to determine the significance of the relationship of an action to achieving your objective. First, what is the action that allows you to achieve your objective? This question allows you to identify what action should appear in your “to-do” list. These significant actions must be accomplished to complete your daily objectives. Second, each action in your “to-do” list and actions you actually take during the day should be analyzed to determine what purpose they are serving. You should ask yourself, “How does this action help me accomplish my daily objectives?” If you are altering your daily plans, you should be aware of the sacrifice you are making. Is the new action that you are taking something that moves you toward today’s objectives? Is it worthy of taking your time from what you planned to do today? In many situations, you do not question interruptions to your plan.6 You accept them then and later reflect back on the waste of your time. Avoid interruptions and certainly question them. You might need to develop another strategy to accomplish your objectives. If you have many interruptions in studying, you might search for another strategy (of when and where) for studying.
The most effective way to control interruptions is to remove yourself from environments that permit them. It is responding to the second question, “Where?” Find yourself a quiet place to concentrate and get through your work with focused attention. You will be surprised at how much you can accomplish in a short