A tríade do tempo - Christian Barbosa

Haven't twenty-four hours been enough to handle all your daily chores and still pursue your dreams?

But how much of your time is invested in the things that really matter to you? And how much time is spent on absolutely unnecessary actions?

In "The Triad of Time", you'll be amazed at a method that is much more than just a set of tips for becoming more productive and devoting yourself to what's really important in your life.

Come with us!

The book "A Tríade do Tempo"

Christian Barbosa's "The Triad of Time", first published in 2004, presents a method of personal planning based on productivity.

"The Triad of time" is a concept developed from a survey of over 42, 000 people worldwide. The result of applying this method is a more organized and balanced personal life.

Who is Christian Barbosa?

Christian Barbosa is one of Brazil's leading experts in time management and personal productivity. An early entrepreneur, Christian soon discovered the stresses of working life, which led him to create this work to develop thousands of people to have their actions put into practice.

He is the founder of Triad Productivity Solutions, a company that develops courses and software and offers consultancy and lectures on productivity and collaboration.

Christian is also a columnist in several publications in Brazil and abroad.

As an author, besides "The Triad of Time", he has five other published books about the same theme.

Why should I read it?

Especially for leaders and managers, from small to larger companies, as Christian Barbosa provides many passages and examples from the corporate world.

This reading is also highly recommended for anyone seeking a more organized and effective personal and professional life.

What are the main ideas of the book?

• Traditional time management techniques are outdated;
• The time triad method represents a break from traditional techniques;
• All human activity can be classified into one of the following spheres: The important activities; The urgent activities; The circumstantial activities;
• The time triad method consists of five cyclic phases:

1. The phase of identity definition;
2. The goal-setting;
3. The planning;
4. The organization;
5. The execution.

This PocketBook explores the conceptualization and practicalities of the time triad method for personal time management. Keep up!

Download the "A Tríade do Tempo" Book Summary in PDF for free

Do you have no time to read now? Then download the free PDF and read wherever and whenever you want:

How to change and succeed?

In the Barbosa's view, any effective change is possible only from the conjunction of three powers (the triad of change):

• The power of dreams: which is the ability to conceive of something beyond present reality, turning it into a goal to be achieved;
• The power of choice: which gives you the autonomy necessary to pursue a dream;
• The power of action: which is to gather strength and set in motion what the power of dreams has conceived and the power of choice has rationalized.

Modernizing Time Management

In the middle of the post-industrial age, traditional time management techniques remain stuck in the past, with anachronistic points such as:

• A partial view of the complexity of a human being: By focusing on a single aspect of a person's life, such as the professional, these techniques ignore the other roles the person plays in everyday life;
• Inefficiency in knowledge management: Addressing the growing volume of information has become an important daily activity. However, this need is ignored by traditional techniques;
• Individual time management: incompatible with an increasingly collaborative world;
• Off-line methods: By ignoring the permanent online connection between people, traditional methods no longer leverage basic resources to achieve high levels of productivity;
• Methods not ready for mobility: Mobility is another resource for high productivity that traditional techniques ignore.

What is The Triad of Time?

First, we need to understand the concepts of the importance and urgency of an activity. So:

• Important activities are those that deserve attention because they are of great value and should be performed smoothly at the right time;
• Urgent activities are those that need to be done immediately.

The concept of the triad of time divides activities into three spheres:

1. One of the important activities.
2. The one of urgent activities.
3. One of the circumstantial activities.

Circumstantial activities are, in essence, unnecessary. However, they exist either for convenience or for being socially appropriate. They cannot be ignored.

In the triad of time, Barbosa says that the spheres don't mix. Thus, by denying that an activity can be both important and urgent at the same time, this approach doesn't create the illusion that we are acting on important issues when in reality we are addressing urgencies.

In identifying our daily activities according to the view of the triad of time, it is ideal that our time is taken mainly by important activities, followed by urgent and circumstantial, in a proportion of 70%, 20%, and 10%, respectively.

How to manage time?

This chapter of "The Triad of Time" intends to present some definitions, such as the following concepts used throughout the book:

• Unload: refers to the use of auxiliary tools to record information so as not to overload the mind;
• Planning: Barbosa reiterates here how important it is to make plans and to avoid the instinct to "do without thinking";
• Anticipate: This is a way of fighting procrastination and preventing an important activity from becoming an urgent activity.
• Prioritize: Prioritization of activities is essential for the proper direction of efforts.
• Balancing: This refers to preventing all available time from being occupied by a succession of mechanically established activities.

What is The Triad Methodology?

The symbol chosen for the triad method is a five-pointed star that simultaneously refers to success, the idea of direction and the human being as a whole.

The triad method consists of a five-phase cycle. They are:

1. Identity: a period of reflection and self-discovery;
2. Goals: identification and selection of goals to be achieved;
3. Planning: detailing how the goals will be achieved;
4. Organization: a "housekeeping" phase, literally;
5. Execution: This is the phase of the action itself.

The Identity Phase

From this chapter of "The Triad of Time", Christian Barbosa goes on to explore each of the phases of the method, beginning with the phase of identity.

The different roles we assume

In the search for our identity, we must be clear about the different roles we take in everyday life (son, father, spouse, boss, etc.).

Each role occupies its place in our existence and has limits to its performance so that one role doesn't contaminate others.

Each role we play may deserve complete application cycles of the triad methodology.

The personal balance

Here we refer to four dimensions of human existence, which are:

1. The physical body: it's our hardware;
2. The mental body: It corresponds to the software in this analogy;
3. The emotional body: It manifests itself in relationships with people;
4. The spiritual body: it concerns our inner self.

Personal balance is in the balance of each of the four bodies.

The personal mission

Just as many companies do, each person can also define their personal mission by giving direction and purpose to their life.

A person's mission concerns his beliefs, philosophy of life, and purpose. It guides your steps and decisions.

At the same time, the mission is the convergence of all the elements that make up a person's identity: their roles, their dreams, their beliefs, and their values.

The Goal Phase

Setting goals is a way of making sense of our actions. Goals should be set for the short, medium, and long term.

To set goals, we can adopt the S. M. A. R. T model developed by Peter Drucker. So by answering the following questions, the goals should be:

• (S)pecific: ask yourself "what?";
• (M)easurable: ask yourself "how much?";
• (A)chievable: ask yourself "how?";
• (R)elevant: ask yourself "why?";
• (T)emporal: ask yourself "when?".

The Planning Phase

Planning gives an order to the goals set. The first rule to be followed defines that:

• Up to 8 goals must be achieved in a year;
• Of these 8, up to 4 should be in the monthly planning;
• Of these 4, up to 2 should be part of the weekly planning.

This rule, known as "8-4-2", aims to keep the focus on chosen goals.

An annual plan should include the following steps:

• Identity review: at least once a year, the first phase of the triad method, "Identity", should be revisited for possible needed updates;
• Goal setting: selecting goals for the year;
• Creating Temporal Windows: an activity often requires exclusive dedication. The temporal window refers to the period required for its execution;
• Personal reorganization: refers to the periodic repetition of the fourth phase of the method, "Organization," detailed below.

In turn, Barbosa establishes that monthly planning should include the following steps:

• The previous month's review: the aim is to monitor the progress of actions, especially in relation to the most important goals;
• Goal review: selecting from the annual goals those that will be executed during the month.

And the weekly planning includes the following steps:

• Unloading actions related to identity: it refers to the act of distributing throughout the week the execution of actions related to identity (roles, balance, mission);
• Select actions linked to goals: set for the selected goals the dates in the week for their execution;
• Review projects and anticipate events: once the most important activities (identity and goals) have been allocated, routine activities and commitments should now be allocated and the possibility of anticipating activities should be checked.
• Conduct a personal organization: it refers to a more localized repetition of the fourth phase of the method.

The Organization Phase

This phase aims to prevent the mess from disrupting the triad methodology. The organization takes place on three levels:

On the physical level

Includes activities such as:

• Tidy up the "paperwork": separate documents that should be discarded (trash), separate and archive the documents in their respective locations, properly identified;
• Organize notes from the paper calendar;
• Arrange the desk.

At the logical level

Digital documents should be organized, including:

• Sort folders and directories on computers;
• Sort outgoing and incoming emails;
• Adopt standards for filenames;
• Verify backup routines.

At the knowledge level

Christian Barbosa says in "The Triad of Time" that with the transformation of information into a strategic asset for companies, it is important to establish mechanisms for easy recording and retrieval of all knowledge generated, captured and shared by employees.

The Execution Phase

Starting from the weekly planning, a daily prioritization of actions should be made, consisting of:

• Review pending issues;
• Calculate the duration of tasks;
• Prioritize according to specific criteria.

Unexpected events

In everyday life, there is always the risk that unexpected events will compromise the progress of planned activities. Thus, there should be an action flowchart to address them, minimizing impacts on other activities.

This action flowchart shall provide for the possibility of:

• Identifying when the event does not require any action;
• It's execution to be denied;
• Permeating the action to be delegated to another person;
• Of the action to be taken immediately;
• Allowing a priority to be assigned by queuing for execution.

Applying the methodology to teams

Barbosa says that the implementation of the triad methodology for teams requires focusing on the collaboration element, which results from a trinity that links methodology, people, and technology.

Some measures are helpful in ensuring that the methodology is applied to teams, such as:

• Have leaders focused on fostering collaboration;
• Apply the methodology to the entire team, similar to the individual application;
• Have technology support to join the group;
• Define indicators for staff to see the outcome of their efforts.

The Fourth Trinity

Throughout "The Triad of Time", the author refers to three trinities:

1. The trinity of change (power of dreams, choice and action);
2. The trinity of time (important, urgent and circumstantial tasks);
3. The trinity of methodology (success, direction and totality of the human being).

The author proposes a fourth trinity: the reader's commitment to himself. This trinity consists of the following actions:

• Practice;
• Adapting;
• Sharing.

More books about time management

Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky's "Make Time" offers a variety of tactics to help you make the most of your time. To do this, you must follow the 4 steps: Highlight, Focus, Energy, and Reflection.

David Allen's book "Getting Things Done" teaches you how to manage your time in ways that increase productivity and reduce stress.

Finally, the book "Taking Control of Your Time" is divided into 4 parts, consisting of 15 articles. All of them are from different authors and it brings the most varied views and strategies on controlling your time.

How can I be more productive?

Immediately, we can say that the content of "The Triad of Time" is 100% applicable to your daily life.

But a great hands-on introductory method you can apply is to identify among all your day-to-day activities, which ones are important, which are urgent, and which are circumstantial.

This simple exercise can help you understand how your time has been spent. Very important decisions for your life can be made from this information.

For full adherence to the method, follow exactly the steps suggested in the book, mentioned here, phase by phase.

Ideally, according to the author, you should set aside a week to apply the Identity and Goals phases, then a week to the Planning phase, and another week for the Organization, to finally apply the Execution of your tasks.

Did you like this summary of the book "A Tríade do Tempo"?

Leave your feedback here in the comments! Your opinion is part of our success triad!

Want to know more about The Triad of Time and it's use on management? The full edition is available for purchase by clicking on the image below!