Chart it, see it,
question it then make better decisions
How would your day change if you could see how your were really spending your time? Make data visual and it becomes easy to see what is going on. Here is a chart showing the pattern of David Achkar’s day where activities are identified as one of three types, plotted every 15 minutes for days on end. Each square = 15 minutes. Each column = 1 day.
Make data visual and its easy to see what is going on Tweet this
A picture emerges once you chart the type of activities undertaken across consecutive days. You are then able to ask different questions about the situation because you are able to either see patterns of activity or, equally important, no patterns in the activity. And asking lots of questions is the key to uncovering the real situation.
We undertook a similar recording and documentation task in our office a few years ago with interesting but not unexpected results. We found that some people were very patterned in their behaviour and others were dragged from task to task with no possibility of longer spans of time to concentrate.
We make better decisions when we are working with facts Tweet this
This was not news but once the picture was visible we were able to make changes in a functional rather than reactive way. We worked with routine processes for staff who are comfortable with routine and changed processes to enable stretches of concentration time for staff whose day didn’t allow it. Having the picture allowed us to make useful changes. We make better decisions when we are working with facts.
What would your day look like?
