Create Time For Improving

Time moves fast.

The phone rings, the emails land and there's your boss with your next assignment. Oh yeah, and your customers are still wanting their orders shipped on time.

Another week passes and your business performance is still at the same level...

Choose a point in your week when you can exit normal business working and work on improving the business instead.

This may seem 'easier said than done'!

How about these ideas?

Give yourself five minutes before you turn the computer on at the start of your working day.
Turn off your phone, your emails, and declare a fifteen minute 'no disruption' time.
Find a quieter part of the business to go and work in, where you won't be found.
Stay for a few minutes after normal working hours, when the frenetic rush has died down.
Swap a meeting (with permission of course) for improvement time.

Or, a combination of the above.

Yes, it's easier said than done, but it can be done. If you don't choose to use your time for specific actions then you risk someone else trying to do so. There is sometimes a degree of negotiation required, sometimes it's a case of saying 'no' and sometimes it's down to us to make a choice as to what is important.

But, even a few minutes invested in continuous improvement activities could save you hours per week (every week)... isn't that worth considering?

Good luck finding your improvement time, it will be worth it.

Giles Johnston
Author of Business Process Re-Engineering

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