High and low value uses of time

Dec 17, 2007 by

High-value and low-value uses of time according to Richard Koch.

High-value

• Things that advance your overall purpose in life
• Things you have always wanted to do
• Things already in the 20/80 relationship of time to results
• Innovative ways of doing things
• Things other people tell you can’t be done
• Things other people have done successfully in a different arena
• Things that use your own creativity
• Things that you can get other people to do for you with little effort on your part
• Anything with high-quality collaborators who have already transcended the 80/20 rule
• Things that for which it is now or never

Low-value

• Things that other people want you to do
• Things that have always been done this way
• Things you are not unusually good at doing
• Things you don’t enjoy doing
• Things that are always interrupted
• Things few other people are interested in
• Things that have already taken twice as long as originally expected
• Anything with unreliable or low-quality collaborators
• Things that have a predictable cycle
• Answering the telephone