The whole category in one page.
RECORD WHERE YOUR TIME ACTUALLY GOES FOR A WEEK, BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE CONSISTENTLY WRONG ABOUT IT
The figure for genuinely available hours is always lower than expected, and plans built on imagined time fail predictably.
URGENCY IS LOUD AND IMPORTANCE IS QUIET, WHICH IS WHY URGENT WORK DISPLACES IMPORTANT WORK
The most valuable category is important and not urgent — planning, building capability, preventing problems — and nothing forces it, so it must be scheduled.
DO THE MOST IMPORTANT THING FIRST, BECAUSE ATTENTION DECLINES AND IT GETS DISPLACED OTHERWISE
Protect your best hours for demanding work and put correspondence in the low-energy periods.
RECOVERING CONCENTRATION COSTS FAR MORE THAN THE INTERRUPTION ITSELF, AND SELF-INTERRUPTION IS USUALLY THE LARGEST SOURCE
Process messages at defined times, and give people a reliable alternative route so they stop interrupting.
DOING IT YOURSELF IS FASTER ONCE AND SLOWER EVERY SUBSEQUENT TIME
Delegate the outcome rather than the method, give authority alongside responsibility, and treat recoverable mistakes as the cost of building capability.
WHEN YOU CANNOT DECLINE, AGREE WHAT WILL BE DISPLACED — ACCEPTING WORK WITHOUT ADJUSTING ANYTHING MEANS SOMETHING FAILS SILENTLY
BREAK STUCK TASKS DOWN UNTIL THE FIRST STEP IS SOMETHING YOU COULD START IN MINUTES, BECAUSE STARTING IS THE DIFFICULTY
WORKING LONGER AT THE COST OF SLEEP PRODUCES LESS, NOT MORE, AND THE DEGRADATION IS NOT NOTICED BY THE PERSON EXPERIENCING IT
AND TEST WHETHER THE BUSINESS RUNS WITHOUT YOU FOR A PERIOD, BECAUSE THAT IS THE MEASURE OF WHETHER YOU BUILT A BUSINESS OR A JOB
