Jen’s Reviews > The Time Bandit Solution: Structured Time & Workflow > Status Update

80/20 rule- Pareto's Principle- 80% of your results come from 20% of your activities.

Hmmm... I never thought of planning my harder tasks when I was fresher. I never even really gave a thought to when I was most efficient at work, other than to state I hate taking lunch, because it takes my work momentum away. Lunch is my time bandit! Lol.

Exactly! Decision fatigue! I would always tell my Grandfather, who had worked at a very physically demanding job, that I was always so tired at the end of the day and he would laugh at me because I have basically a desk job. He didn't understand that working your brain hard can be just as tiring as working your body hard.

I disagree. I like plans and I'm not afraid of personal accountability. I say I'm going to do something, I'm going to do it or die trying. With work. If its for someone else, no problem. For me, I tend to put it off until there is nothing else to do for anyone else.

He quotes Malcolm Gladwell from The Outliers. "Practice isn't the thing you do once you're good. It's the thing that makes you good." 10,000 hours is what it takes to master a skill. I'm woefully behind!

The objections to Time Locking. 1. No need. 2. Distrust. 3. Inconvenience. 4. I don't understand.

Rule 1-at least one hour a day, time lock. No one was allowed to violate that time. Rule 2-supervisors limit interactions with subordinates and never violate time lock. Rule 3-all receive training in time locks to understand its importance. Rule 4-bonus if time lock increased productivity. Rule 5-all covered for each other during their time lock.

Step 1-what is the immediate upside benefit/downside risk? Step 2-understand what it is about the decision that confuses or challenges you. Step 3- how do you mitigate risk? Plan B? Step 4 -when does the decision need to be made? When will effects of decision end? Step 5-decision made immediately or can be deferred?

"Remember: If you don't control your time, you don't control your life." So true.

I disagree. Sometimes one takes focus off of a project because a break is needed. If one works too hard at something and is too focused, fresh ideas aren't able to be generated and the work can suffer. Every instance differs, but sometimes taking five minutes can be helpful.