I commented in an email just now that you can get them by entering “component #1″ and “component #” in the search bar. The second search calls up posts on #s 2-11. Very handy!

Thanks for this site.

There have always been 11 fundamentals — it’s just the the manifesto could only cover the first 7 due to editorial constraints.

If you download my e-book, they are explained in overview — the missing 4 are Warning, Interrupting, Reviewing and Switching.

There is a post devoted to each fundamental someplace in the blog.

I think you’re right — the truth as far as I can see it is that time actually cannot be managed. It’s a bit like the weather in the a regard! (I make this point someplace in my blog.)

What can be manged are our habits and practices. When professionals focus on the time, it’s a bit like looking for a key lost in an alley only on the side lit by the street-lamp. (Old joke)

Time is simply not the problem. We are.

But, I guess it’s just easier to say “I ran out of time” and “I don’t have enough time” than it is to acknowledge the truth – “my habits suck.”

I’m not sure if your estimate is actually know-able — it all depends on what you call an action. My test in all cases is “what does this do for my peace of mind?” The answer to that question is probably different for everyone, but useful in determining the level of items that should be scheduled in a calendar.

I also think issues like motivation, focus, and psychic drain are more of the variables at play than time. The easiest thing people say is that “I don’t have time to do everything I need to”, when they probably should be saying “I have no idea what I actually need to do to get the job done” or “I’m absolutely not motivated to get the job done”. But we “understand” time, so it’s an easy coin in the realm of productivity.

So I’m going to ask the dumb question: whence the 11 Fundamentals? The copy of the manifesto I have has 7. It mushroomed?

When people feel overwhelmed by their commitments, they generally assume that lack of time is the source of anxiety. But if the next action is unclear, of if the outcome remains implicit instead of consciously define, then you can never get enough of what you don’t need — in this case, time.

I would assert that people usually feel overwhelmed by confusing outcomes with actions. So they’ll put things like “Learn Excel” on their to do list instead of “Read manual.” Or they put “Read manual” without having a place to specify what the objective behind reading the manual is.

In some instances, time is an integral component of an action step. If a meeting runs from 3:00 to 4:30, you’ll need a system to hold that time commitment. But for most actions (offhand, I would say 80%), like phone calls, emails, getting information from the web, time isn’t the dependent variable; it just seems that way when they haven’t been defined with appropriate granularity.