Category Archives: Articles

Component/Fundamental #11 – Reviewing v2

A critical skill used in any well-functioning time management system is that of reviewing and improving. Definition Reviewing is the skill of looking over both the contents of the time management system AND its functioning, with a view to preventing … Continue reading

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Component #10 – Warning v2

No user’s system is perfect, and all systems are liable to fall apart at the seams when pressure hits and certain practices (like Reviewing) fall by the wayside. Definition What a smart user at a high level will do is … Continue reading

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Component/Fundamental #9 – Switching v2

One of the most important tasks that a user of any time management system must perform is to switch from one task to another. While this may seem like a simple action, the more capable users include practices that are … Continue reading

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Component/Fundamental #8 – Interrupting v2

Definition In the book titled “Flow” by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, the author talks about the optimal psychological state – one in which a person gets lost in the activity at hand. They get lost in time, and experience a kind of … Continue reading

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Component/Fundamental #7 – Listing v2

A critical part of any time management system is the activity of Listing. In the prior component, Scheduling, I addressed the power of expanding the use of a schedule from a mere Appointment Calendar to a possibly useful planner of … Continue reading

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Component/Fundamental #6 – Scheduling

Scheduling is one of the major activities that take place in any time management system. This entry, therefore, should be read after the entries in the post Ways to Use a Calendar have been read and thoroughly digested, for the … Continue reading

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Component/Fundamental #5 -Storing (and Retrieving) v2

Often, critical information enters a capture point that needs to be stored for later use. It may come as part of a time demand, such as a note placed on our desk that says “Call Suzie tomorrow at 555-1616.” This … Continue reading

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Component/Fundamental #4 — Acting Now v2

During the act of Emptying, the user often discovers that a number of time demands can be completed with only a 2-5 minute burst of immediate activity. Definition Acting Now means taking immediate action on items that have been emptied … Continue reading

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Component/Fundamental #3 — Tossing v2

Tossing is one of the components that can directly follow Emptying. Definition Once a time demand enters or is entered into one of the capture points, a decision is made during the component of Emptying about what to do with … Continue reading

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Component/Fundamental #2 – Emptying v2

Emptying is the activity that logically follows Capturing. Definition Emptying involves removing items one at a time from the points of capture and placing them within one of the other components of the time management system. This action frees up … Continue reading

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