Theory of Constraints Handbook - James Cox Iii [723]
Notice that as you performed activities, you progressed down the list with activities in region 1 (red), which has the highest priority for your time. If you could not accomplish an activity in order, you moved on to the next highest activity in which you could meet the requirement.
Buffer Management is a simple approach to increasing your effectiveness because it provides a time buffer of activities at your disposal. Be assured, Murphy will always strike, so you must be prepared. The key is always to have the next highest priority activities available to be worked on just in case something does not go as planned. Failure to buffer your work results in unplanned idle time, working on unimportant activities, and having the wrong items to complete an activity. At the end of the day, you should examine your buffer list to plan your next day’s activities. If you did not complete your list of activities, remember that you have accomplished the most important ones. You should move any incomplete activities to the next day and prioritize them based on planned activities listed in your daily planner for the next day. An additional purpose of BM is to identify the cause of disruptions to your schedule. An analysis of the causes of disruptions should be performed to identify which causes (maybe, your cell phone, or watching TV while you study) must be addressed to improve overall performance.
Don’t be discouraged if you only accomplish half of the activities listed in your buffered “to-do” list. You have to learn to estimate your capacity for completing activities, and more importantly, you have to learn how to control interruptions. Interruptions are a fact of life. Some are uncontrollable and disrupt your schedule totally. Planning to finish your activities ahead of time is actually a method of buffering these activities against interruptions. Suppose your MBA team project is due next Friday (recall you have a busy Friday planned already), you discuss with your team tonight the possibility of completing and turning in the project by Wednesday evening. This gives you a two-day completion buffer for your team report.
* * *
Several other guidelines for managing your time effectively are provided here.
Set aside some quiet time for thinking and planning.
Identify your creativity or energy cycle. Protect creative hours from interruptions.
Schedule (sequence) the entire day, not just appointments.
Have specific, realistic, attainable, and measurable activities to be completed in your time buffer.
Eliminate or screen interruptions. (Cut off your cell; put a “do not disturb” sign on the door.)
Find a quiet, isolated place to work on those critical projects.
Group errands—getting items from grocery store, bookstore, and library. Travel times may outweigh activity times.
Gain control—most individuals plan well, but they fail to execute.
Establish daily, weekly, monthly, and annual objectives linked to your life goals.
Set measurable objectives.
Measure progress toward your objectives.
Recognize that work requires focus, concentration, motivation, and time. If you cannot apply the first three requirements, then significantly more time is required.
Eliminate multitasking as much as possible. Start and finish a task; the preparation for completing a task in many cases exceeds the time to complete the task. Starting over requires repetition of this timely preparation.
Always have additional high priority work available to substitute where Murphy strikes and the completing of a scheduled task is delayed or when you finish a task ahead of time.
Allow and schedule time for high priority activities that support your short-term objectives