Deciding what gets done.
WHAT TO ESTABLISH
What must be done What only you can do What matters most, as opposed to what is loudest
WHY THAT LAST DISTINCTION
Urgent and important are different, and urgency frequently wins by default.
WHAT TO DO ABOUT THAT
Decide in advance what the important work is, and protect time for it.
WHAT TO SCHEDULE
Specific work at specific times.
WHY
Intentions without times do not happen.
WHAT TO PROTECT
A period of uninterrupted time, daily, for work requiring concentration.
WHAT TO BATCH
Similar work: messages, calls, administration.
WHY
Switching between kinds of work costs more than the work itself.
WHAT TO MEASURE
How long things actually take.
WHY
Estimates are consistently optimistic, and only measurement corrects them.
WHAT TO BUILD IN
Time for the unexpected.
WHAT TO REVIEW WEEKLY
What was done, what was not, and why.
WHAT TO AVOID
A system more elaborate than the work it organises.
