10/21/2017–For about 3-12 months I’ve been trying out some new techniques to work better:
- “Bites” project management
- Tracking results on a “career management document” (CMD)
- Using “tasks” in Outlook to manage daily work
- A Windows Explorer folder structure optimized for convenience
I figured I should track progress with each one in case anyone ever wants to know what I learned. Since I avoid creating new piles of notes whenever possible, I figured the best way to capture what I’ve learned is by making a journal entry out of it. So, here’s a bit about each method, what I’ve learned, and how I see each evolving. “WWW” means What works well? and “TALA” means Take a look at…
Bites project management
Purpose–I wanted to know what I should be doing each day to work on my projects. I used a phrase that I’d heard from Manager Tools several times–“How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” So I broke up each of my five projects into parts that really were just the text from my work plan rearranged as bullet lists in Microsoft Word.
- WWW: breaking apart projects into “bite-sized” pieces; planning my days based on which tasks were priorities; translating the bites into Outlook tasks that are short enough in time required that I can drag-and-drop them right onto my calendar when I plan my days;
- TALA: before breaking a project into tasks, consider what questions would be valuable to answer considering the project
- Evolution: My new hypothesis is If I ask the right questions, then executing the resulting strategy will lead to the right results. To test this, I’ll create tasks based on the questions to be answered, not simply the results I initially think the project calls for. So, I guess the first step when faced with a blank work plan is to ask the right questions (maybe how to ask questions, a.k.a. “inquiry” is a skill worth learning #metaskill…).
Tracking achievements with a Career Management Document
Purpose–To enable efficient, quality resumes. Second, the CMD may provide some enjoyment to you as it help you to reflect on all the things you’ve done. It’s one of those tools whose value only becomes clear when you need it in the future. This is a document that you keep personally, so not on your work computer (it’s your personal record of what you’ve achieved).
- WWW: Just tracking random things–anything that could be put into words I kept. Feedback received, small projects I did for people that I didn’t get reviewed on, any experience I had that might be helpful to remember later.
- TALA: Not having a set time to update it made it hard to remember to do. I ended up with like 6 months between updates, so I was having to pull from memory anyway, which defeated the purpose. Also, I wasn’t capturing results in language that could be “cut & paste” into a resume.
- Evolution: I will now keep a recurring appointment to update my CMD on my Outlook calendar. Further, since the purpose is to enable resume-writing, I will capture results in a way that addresses the two questions a resume answers: What did you do? and How well did you do it?
Managing daily work with Outlook “tasks”
Purpose–To capture actions I need to take based on my projects and emails I receive. Combined with the bites project management technique, this allows me to get projects into my daily calendar as efficiently as possible.
- WWW: Using a shortcut to create a task with an email attached while filing that email into a reference folder. At the end of each day, it’s been helpful to drag priority tasks directly into a time on the next work day. Emailing myself a “limited details” view of tomorrow’s calendar enables me to see my daily calendar on my phone anytime. Assigning a number 1-6 to each project I’m doing, then naming each task starting with the number of the project it relates to or “Admin”, then sorting the tasks in a way that they appear grouped by project.
- TALA: Still not sure how to best use due dates with tasks. When I plan each day the night before, how much open time should I leave?
- Evolution: I’ve now fully adopted the “Peak Productivity with Outlook” system, so I’ll begin each day with unscheduled time and I won’t assign any due dates to tasks unless the work has an actual due date.
Design Windows Explorer folders to optimize search
Purpose–Save time accessing files while not forgetting about valuable files I save for later.
- WWW: Renaming files as they come with future searching in mind, partitioning the hard drive so that C: contains all your files (easy backup onto flash), limit to 1 or 2 levels of folders instead of folders for each group, project or current/past status, using the OneDrive cloud sync to backup everything real-time.
- TALA: Careful with the “save all attachments” function when people email you multiple files. This prevents renaming them, which is a huge part of this system. What files shouldn’t go in the “reference” folder? Also, how would I know if I’m not searching for the best file?
- Evolution: Continue to migrate out of Box and into OneDrive, especially for personal files. This allows live sync with software I already have (Microsoft OneDrive–otherwise I’d have to download Box sync, as would any collaborators). Because all files are either being created or are complete, I’ll file the former in a group folder, and all others (finished documents) in “reference”. Also, name files in a way that ensures I’m not going to miss the best file for my needs. Even if i’m now able to find a relevant file instantly, it doesn’t mean that’s the best file I have ever saved for what I’m doing.