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Time Management
10
Taking Control
Make a list of items and activities that you confront on a daily
or near-daily basis. Assign each a numerical value from 1 to 5,
with 1 representing an item over which you have no control and 5 an
item over which you have complete control.
For example, you have complete control over how you respond to
the ringing of your alarm clock in the morning.You also have at least
some control over whether or not you answer the telephone when it
rings—more control, perhaps, at home than in the office.You may have
absolutely no control of morning traffic, but you do have control over
your reaction to it.
Begin by attempting to take more control of items you currently
value as 4’s—that is, not quite complete control, but almost. As you
master these, begin with the 3’s. And once a month, for the next six
months, update your list and your valuations, reevaluating the level of
control you’re actually able to exert over each item. As you become
more conscious of both the need to take control and your power to
exercise control, you should begin to see a steady improvement in
your “control ratings.”

yet you (or your company) cannot afford one? What do you do if
your boss is as dysfunctional as the pointy-haired one in Dilbert?
We’ll examine these challenges in upcoming chapters.
Remember: there are clever, subtle ways to conquer almost any
obstacle.
In the meantime, you might find it useful to go back to the
questions posed earlier and answer them as if you were your
boss or your spouse. Then ask yourself these questions:
• Do my answers reflect the true nature of the person I am
doing this for, or how I feel they are?
• Am I projecting my own values or fears onto them?
• To what extent do their traits affect my business perform-
ance?
• What genuine strengths of the other person can serve as
an inspiration to me?
• What honest shortcomings of theirs must I find a way
around?