Monday, June 4, 2012

But sometimes I've got to get stuff done!

You may say to yourself or hear from others, I don't have time for improvement! I have things that must be done!

It's the familiar issue of urgent tasks vs. important tasks. First, I assert that improvement is not just one important task but one of the most important tasks! If you improve a process today you will reap the benefits of that improvement every time you use the process. That's how you create a lasting benefit!

Some tasks are not urgent and not important. Surfing the web or playing a game of Spider are examples. The problem is when people assume that since a task like improvement is not urgent (you can make it through your day without the improvement), it is also not important. Wrong!

One way to handle important tasks (like improvement) that are not necessarily urgent is to schedule a time to do them. And the assumption is that if the time is scheduled, you will block out other urgent tasks that may arise. (If you don't block those urgent tasks, what was the point of scheduling?)

A second way to handle important tasks that are not urgent is to make them urgent. You or your supervisor can create goals with deadlines for completing important improvement projects. The deadlines create urgency.

Another approach is to look at the tasks on your to-do list. Are there tasks there that are urgent but not important? We all have a tendency to give requests from others a level of urgency because it will please the requester. But it can destroy effectiveness. You end up spending your time on unimportant tasks.

So it primarily comes down to a conflict between tasks that are important but not urgent and tasks that are urgent but not important. When considered this way, the choice is clear: do what's important.

And remember, improvement is one of the most important things you do!

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Keywords: continuous improvement