SMART
Time
Management
Goals
G OALS
AT
A
G LAN CE
01
End
each
workday
with
tomorrow
'
s
plan
already
written
DAILY
PLANNING
02
Start
each
morning
by
committing
to
a
top
three
DAILY
PLANNING
03
Triage
every
incoming
request
within
one
business
day
PRIORIT IZ AT ION
04
Cap
active
projects
at
three
,
with
no
exceptions
running
two
weeks
PRIORIT IZ AT ION
05
Hold
two
90-
minute
deep
work
blocks
,
four
days
a
week
FOCUS
06
Check
email
and
chat
three
times
a
day
,
in
20-
minute
windows
FOCUS
07
Cut
recurring
meeting
hours
by
30
percent
MEET INGS
08
Decline
or
delegate
any
meeting
without
a
published
agenda
MEET INGS
09
Delegate
two
recurring
tasks
completely
,
with
documentation
DELEGAT ION
10
Stop
work
at
6:00
pm
on
weekdays
and
5:30
pm
on
Fridays
BOUNDARIES
11
Protect
a
45-
minute
review
block
every
Friday
REVIEW
12
Track
all
working
time
in
15-
minute
increments
for
four
weeks
REVIEW
1 / 7
T HE
T WELVE
G OALS
,
WRIT T EN
O UT
IN
FULL
01
End
each
workday
with
tomorrow
'
s
plan
already
written
DAILY
PLANNING
S
S PECIFIC
Spend
the
final
ten
minutes
of
every
workday
writing
tomorrow
'
s
plan
:
three
priorities
,
any
meeting
preparation
,
and
one
protected
focus
block
recorded
in
a
single
dated
note
.
M
MEAS URAB LE
Five
of
five
workdays
each
week
have
a
dated
plan
note
created
before
6:30
pm
,
verified
against
the
note
history
on
Friday
.
A
ACHIEVAB LE
Ten
minutes
is
under
two
percent
of
an
eight
-
hour
day
,
and
the
note
template
already
exists
—
no
new
tooling
,
no
new
subscription
.
R
RELEVANT
Starting
the
day
with
decisions
already
made
removes
the
20–30
minutes
typically
lost
to
morning
triage
and
inbox
scanning
.
T
T IME
-
B O UND
Every
workday
from
January
5
through
March
31,
tallied
at
the
Friday
review
each
week
.
How
you
'
ll
know
it
worked
:
at
least
90
percent
of
workdays
in
March
begin
with
a
written
plan
and
zero
minutes
of
unscheduled
morning
triage
.
02
Start
each
morning
by
committing
to
a
top
three
DAILY
PLANNING
S
S PECIFIC
Open
the
day
'
s
plan
and
rank
exactly
three
outcomes
as
must
-
finish
before
opening
email
,
chat
,
or
the
calendar
for
anything
else
.
M
MEAS URAB LE
The
top
three
are
identified
before
9:15
am
on
at
least
18
of
20
workdays
each
month
.
A
ACHIEVAB LE
It
draws
directly
on
the
plan
written
the
night
before
and
takes
about
four
minutes
.
R
RELEVANT
It
stops
urgent
-
but
-
unimportant
work
from
claiming
the
first
and
most
productive
hours
of
the
day
.
T
T IME
-
B O UND
Daily
from
January
5,
with
the
monthly
count
reviewed
on
the
last
Friday
of
each
month
through
March
27.
How
you
'
ll
know
it
worked
:
the
three
outcomes
are
written
down
before
9:15
am
on
four
days
out
of
five
,
and
at
least
two
of
them
ship
same
-
day
.
2 / 7
03
Triage
every
incoming
request
within
one
business
day
PRIORITIZATION
S
S PECIFIC
Every
request
arriving
outside
the
day
'
s
plan
is
scored
on
the
Eisenhower
matrix
—
urgent
and
important
,
important
not
urgent
,
everything
else
—
then
scheduled
,
delegated
,
or
declined
in
writing
.
M
MEAS URAB LE
Fewer
than
five
percent
of
inbox
and
chat
requests
are
older
than
24
hours
without
a
recorded
disposition
.
A
ACHIEVAB LE
A
saved
reply
template
plus
a
15-
minute
end
-
of
-
day
triage
slot
handles
the
current
volume
with
room
to
spare
.
R
RELEVANT
An
un
-
triaged
backlog
is
the
single
biggest
reason
priorities
quietly
reshuffle
mid
-
week
.
T
T IME
-
B O UND
From
January
5,
measured
weekly
and
held
through
March
31.
How
you
'
ll
know
it
worked
:
the
Monday
backlog
count
stays
under
five
open
items
for
four
consecutive
weeks
.
04
Cap
active
projects
at
three
PRIORITIZATION
S
S PECIFIC
Keep
no
more
than
three
projects
in
active
status
.
Everything
else
moves
to
next
or
parked
,
each
with
a
named
owner
and
a
review
date
.
M
MEAS URAB LE
The
active
count
reads
three
or
fewer
in
every
weekly
review
,
with
zero
exceptions
carried
for
two
consecutive
weeks
.
A
ACHIEVAB LE
The
portfolio
currently
holds
seven
:
two
close
in
January
,
one
is
handed
off
in
February
,
one
is
merged
into
a
larger
effort
.
R
RELEVANT
Three
is
the
number
the
team
can
staff
without
the
context
-
switching
penalty
that
has
moved
delivery
dates
twice
this
year
.
T
T IME
-
B O UND
Reduced
from
seven
to
three
by
February
13,
then
held
through
March
31.
How
you
'
ll
know
it
worked
:
no
active
project
slips
its
date
for
the
six
weeks
after
the
reduction
.
3 / 7
05
Hold
two
90-
minute
deep
work
blocks
,
four
days
a
week
FOCUS
S
S PECIFIC
Calendar
holds
9:30–11:00
am
and
2:00–3:30
pm
as
protected
deep
work
on
Monday
,
Tuesday
,
Thursday
,
and
Friday
,
with
chat
set
to
Do
Not
Disturb
and
the
phone
in
a
drawer
.
M
MEAS URAB LE
26
of
a
possible
32
blocks
held
per
four
-
week
period
,
logged
in
the
weekly
review
as
kept
,
moved
,
or
lost
.
A
ACHIEVAB LE
The
blocks
already
exist
in
draft
,
and
the
two
closest
collaborators
have
standing
authority
to
decline
conflicts
on
your
behalf
.
R
RELEVANT
These
are
the
only
stretches
long
enough
for
the
analysis
and
writing
that
actually
ships
in
this
role
.
T
T IME
-
B O UND
Starting
January
12,
running
through
March
31.
How
you
'
ll
know
it
worked
:
at
least
four
finished
documents
in
February
can
be
traced
to
a
named
deep
work
block
.
06
Check
email
and
chat
three
times
a
day
FOCUS
S
S PECIFIC
Batch
inbox
and
team
chat
into
three
windows
— 9:00
am
, 12:30
pm
,
and
4:30
pm
—
of
twenty
minutes
each
,
with
notifications
switched
off
outside
those
windows
.
M
MEAS URAB LE
Fewer
than
three
unscheduled
checks
per
day
,
recorded
in
a
single
-
line
tally
logged
before
leaving
the
desk
.
A
ACHIEVAB LE
Response
-
time
expectations
have
been
agreed
with
the
manager
and
the
two
closest
collaborators
,
so
nobody
is
waiting
blind
.
R
RELEVANT
Continuous
checking
costs
roughly
seven
hours
a
week
in
re
-
orientation
after
each
interruption
.
T
T IME
-
B O UND
Four
-
week
trial
from
January
5
to
February
1,
then
kept
or
adjusted
for
the
remainder
of
the
quarter
.
How
you
'
ll
know
it
worked
:
the
unscheduled
-
check
tally
is
under
three
per
day
for
the
final
ten
days
of
the
trial
.
4 / 7
07
Cut
recurring
meeting
hours
by
30
percent
MEETINGS
S
S PECIFIC
Audit
every
recurring
meeting
on
the
calendar
and
either
shorten
it
,
halve
its
frequency
,
convert
it
to
a
written
async
update
,
or
cancel
it
outright
.
M
MEAS URAB LE
A
baseline
of
11.5
recurring
meeting
hours
per
week
is
reduced
to
eight
hours
or
less
by
March
6,
confirmed
by
the
calendar
'
s
weekly
totals
.
A
ACHIEVAB LE
Fourteen
recurring
meetings
are
in
scope
,
and
each
is
a
five
-
minute
decision
made
with
the
organizer
in
a
standing
one
-
on
-
one
.
R
RELEVANT
Above
eight
hours
a
week
of
meetings
,
there
is
no
room
left
in
the
calendar
for
the
deep
work
the
role
requires
.
T
T IME
-
B O UND
Audit
completed
by
January
23,
target
reached
by
March
6,
held
through
March
31.
How
you
'
ll
know
it
worked
:
the
weekly
calendar
total
reads
eight
hours
or
less
for
four
consecutive
weeks
.
08
Decline
or
delegate
any
meeting
without
a
published
agenda
MEETINGS
S
S PECIFIC
Request
an
agenda
for
every
incoming
invitation
.
If
none
arrives
24
hours
before
the
start
time
,
decline
and
offer
a
written
alternative
contribution
instead
.
M
MEAS URAB LE
Zero
attended
meetings
without
a
published
agenda
,
measured
across
the
final
40
meetings
attended
in
the
quarter
.
A
ACHIEVAB LE
A
two
-
line
saved
reply
makes
the
request
low
-
friction
,
and
two
teammates
already
use
the
same
wording
.
R
RELEVANT
Roughly
a
quarter
of
last
quarter
'
s
meetings
ended
with
no
agenda
and
no
recorded
decision
.
T
T IME
-
B O UND
From
January
5
through
March
31.
How
you
'
ll
know
it
worked
:
meeting
hours
drop
again
in
March
without
any
complaint
about
missing
information
.
5 / 7
09
Delegate
two
recurring
tasks
completely
DELEGATION
S
S PECIFIC
List
the
ten
tasks
repeated
every
week
,
then
move
two
of
them
fully
to
a
teammate
,
complete
with
written
documentation
and
a
30-
day
handover
.
M
MEAS URAB LE
Two
recurring
tasks
are
owned
and
run
by
someone
else
for
four
straight
weeks
with
no
daily
involvement
from
you
.
A
ACHIEVAB LE
Both
candidates
are
already
documented
,
and
a
teammate
has
asked
twice
for
more
scope
this
quarter
.
R
RELEVANT
Recurring
admin
consumes
about
six
hours
a
week
that
belongs
to
higher
-
value
work
.
T
T IME
-
B O UND
Candidates
chosen
by
January
16,
handover
complete
by
March
20.
How
you
'
ll
know
it
worked
:
the
weekly
task
list
is
two
lines
shorter
and
has
stayed
that
way
for
a
month
.
10
Stop
work
at
6:00
pm
on
weekdays
and
5:30
pm
on
Fridays
BOUNDARIES
S
S PECIFIC
Close
the
laptop
at
6:00
pm
three
weekdays
a
week
and
at
5:30
pm
on
Fridays
,
with
no
email
or
chat
replies
after
the
stop
time
.
M
MEAS URAB LE
Fourteen
of
eighteen
eligible
weekdays
each
month
ending
on
time
,
tracked
on
the
calendar
as
a
closed
block
.
A
ACHIEVAB LE
Start
times
already
hold
at
8:30
am
,
and
the
nightly
plan
note
gives
the
day
a
real
stopping
point
.
R
RELEVANT
Recovery
time
is
what
keeps
the
deep
work
blocks
and
the
morning
plans
sustainable
past
this
quarter
.
T
T IME
-
B O UND
From
January
5,
tallied
on
the
last
working
day
of
each
month
through
March
31.
How
you
'
ll
know
it
worked
:
the
last
message
sent
on
a
weekday
is
timestamped
before
6:00
pm
for
fourteen
days
in
March
.
6 / 7
11
Protect
a
45-
minute
review
block
every
Friday
REVIEW
S
S PECIFIC
Block
Friday
4:00–4:45
pm
for
a
set
review
:
what
shipped
,
what
slipped
,
inbox
cleared
to
zero
,
and
the
three
priorities
for
the
following
week
.
M
MEAS URAB LE
Twelve
of
thirteen
Fridays
completed
,
with
notes
kept
in
one
running
review
document
.
A
ACHIEVAB LE
The
slot
is
already
free
of
recurring
meetings
,
and
the
review
template
takes
two
minutes
to
fill
in
.
R
RELEVANT
This
is
the
only
mechanism
that
catches
a
plan
drifting
before
the
drift
costs
a
full
week
.
T
T IME
-
B O UND
Every
Friday
from
January
9
through
March
27.
How
you
'
ll
know
it
worked
:
the
review
document
holds
thirteen
consecutive
dated
entries
by
the
end
of
the
quarter
.
12
Track
all
working
time
in
15-
minute
increments
for
four
weeks
REVIEW
S
S PECIFIC
Log
all
working
time
in
15-
minute
increments
using
the
existing
calendar
and
a
running
time
log
,
categorised
as
deep
work
,
meetings
,
admin
,
or
interruption
.
M
MEAS URAB LE
Twenty
consecutive
workdays
logged
with
fewer
than
90
minutes
unaccounted
for
on
any
single
day
.
A
ACHIEVAB LE
Fifteen
-
minute
increments
are
coarse
enough
to
log
in
under
three
minutes
at
the
end
of
each
day
.
R
RELEVANT
Baseline
data
shows
where
the
forty
-
hour
week
actually
goes
,
and
proves
whether
the
other
eleven
goals
moved
it
.
T
T IME
-
B O UND
January
12
to
February
6,
with
the
findings
written
up
by
February
13.
How
you
'
ll
know
it
worked
:
the
write
-
up
names
the
two
largest
time
leaks
with
figures
,
and
at
least
one
of
them
is
already
closed
.
7 / 7
