Toyota is famous for its workplace systems, chief among them, its approach to lean manufacturing. To eliminate wasted time and resources, Toyota’s production method models what’s called “just in time” manufacturing.
Instead of sinking high costs into surplus parts, Toyota makes what is needed (not too many, not too few), when it is required (not too early, not too late), and in the amount required for the next phase of production.
One useful rule of thumb, popularized by Tim Ferriss in The 4-Hour Workweek, is to focus on just in time information rather than just in case information.
Take reading, for instance. Instead of reading books that you might refer to someday (just in case), read books that you can refer to right now (just in time).
A book on investing might be useful once you become debt-free, but not when you’re paying back your creditors and can’t afford to invest 10 percent of your annual income.
On the other hand, a book on leadership will have particular relevance when paired with a promotion to lead a team to organize an upstream intervention. To eliminate wasted time and resources, think just in time, not just in case.
Footnotes
[1] The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9–5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Tim Ferriss
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