Stealing, of course, is a crime, and a very impolite thing to do.
—Lemony Snicket, The Wide Window

PART

1

THE FIVE THIEVES OF TIME

If your wallet was stolen, you’d notice. If your security badge to your office was filched, you’d know it when you arrived. And if you opened the fridge to find your lunch missing, you’d make sure your office mates heard about it. So why don’t people notice when they are robbed of something more valuable than their wallet, badge, or lunch—their nonrenewable time?

We grumble that there just aren’t enough hours in the day and that someone else sure seems to have a lot of free time. But we regular mortals only have twenty-four hours in a day. The problem is that we don’t protect our hours from being stolen. We allow thieves to steal time from us, day after day after day.

Who are these thieves of time?

The five thieves of time that prevent you from getting work done include:

1. Too Much Work-in-Progress (WIP)—Work that has started, but is not yet finished. Sometimes referred to as partially completed work.
2. Unknown Dependencies—Something you weren’t aware of that needs to happen before you can finish.
3. Unplanned Work—Interruptions that prevent you from finishing something or from stopping at a better breaking point.
4. Conflicting Priorities—Projects and tasks that compete with each other. This is exacerbated when you are uncertain about what the most important thing is to do.
5. Neglected Work—Partially completed work that sits idle on the bench.

These five thieves hide right under your nose, comfortably cozy between you and your work. They leave clues at every crime scene. If we’re going to get stuff done, we must trap these thieves to expose the crimes they commit. Once the thieves are caught, we can begin to do something about their insidious wreckage. Instead of being at their mercy, we can turn that dark corner, take back control, and make the kind of improvements that matter.