If you had more time, what would you spend it on? Thinking, planning, your staff, your customers, or developing yourself maybe?
These are all ‘box 3’ activities – box 3 is Important but not (yet) Urgent (some people have boxes 2 and 3 the other way around, it doesn’t really matter as long as you define your terms).
The objective is to get some time every day for box 3, for example by allocating perhaps 30 minutes of your diary to box 3, as well as making sure your diary doesn’t get completely full, and by moving parts of some of the larger tasks across from your Master list to your Daily jobs to do list.
Here is a list of some of the main box 3 activities that you would ideally be making time for. These things will pay back in the future – they are investments of time. they are easily postponed but that’s a shame!
- Measuring – Analysing – Asking why – maybe 5 why’s – in order to improver performance and to prevent repeats of problems.
- Improving systems and structure so that problems don’t fall down the cracks. Automating, and continuous improvement to keep increasing efficiency.
- Improving quality.
- Working on projects – planning, monitoring, and crying out some of the tasks if you can’t delegate them.
- Delegating – monitoring – supporting
- Coaching and training your team
- Team communication and team development
- Management by walking about – includes visiting other sites
- At least a day a year of “Back To The Floor”
- Communication with colleagues, customers, suppliers, individuals who report to you, and with your boss. This covers both talking and listening.
- Self development, learning new information and skills, and investigating new technology
- Planning and working on your goals
- Thinking, creating, having ideas.
- Reading.
- Having fun.
As you know, I’m quite obsessed by Mneumonics and Acronymns – they amuse me, and I like the challenge. The best I could do for Box 3 was:
Get the P.I.C.T.U.R.E.
Plan – includes projects, setting and working on future goals
Investigate – prevent repeats of problems, and improve quality
Communicate – upwards, sideways, and to team and individuals
Think – have ideas, be creative, that’s where managers really add value
Understand – ask why, so you can improve efficiency
Read – the source of all knowledge and information
Educate – self and team: training, self development, sharpen the saw
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