 Home : Methods : Background
The Challenge
The job of the modern knowledge professional is neither straightforward nor routine.
We must capture, process and track requests and activities from any number of sources
and incorporating any number of complexities.
We need a flexible method that not only records and tracks our activities but also
drives our productivity in a proactive manner. If we are to perform to our
maximum potential we need both skills and time. The skills are necessary to
deliver something of value and the time is required in order to deliver that value.
The modern work environment places massive demands on our time. We are subject
to continual bombardment from colleagues, staff, customers and bosses. It
is not realistic to hide away, free from interruptions. If we are to be effective
we need a powerful and rich method for capturing, tracking and acting that is both
flexibility and easy to use.
The Task List
The humble Task Lists offers a flexible way to identify things that need to be done.
Even the paper version or manual art of listing things to do in the calendar page
of a future date is quite effective.
Electronic equivalents like the Task capability of Microsoft Outlook® provide additional
capabilities in that you can configure “Reminders” so that your computer or even
hand-held diary alerts you of pending activity.
The method with regards to Task Lists is simple: As requests land at your feet,
you quickly appraise the request and then generate a Task to manage the response
appropriate to the request. You can also use the Task List to track items
you have requested of others.
An extension to this method is the activity of blocking out future parts of your
diary to “address” or “review” a request. If you are using the electronic
equivalents, another little trick is the use the body or notes area of the Task
Item to make comments about your activity. You also might choose to note when
you received the request or what you asked of whom and by when. In this way
you have a “mini-journal” of your related activities that can be reviewed later
reducing the time you spend coming back up to speed. Have you ever found yourself
asking “when did I send that” or “what did I say to him”? The notes inside
your tasks can help elevate that problem.
For more information on using Microsoft Outlook® Task Lists visit http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/help/HA011092821033.aspx
Do we need more than a task list?
Is it sufficient to be on top of what you need to do, when you need to do it and
for whom it needs to be done for? Well the simple answer is “no”. The
reason is a little more complicated. The very nature of task lists is that
they never diminish. As you complete tasks at the top, more items are added
to the bottom. Further more, it is rare that any single activity is done in
isolation of everything else. More often, even the simplest of activities
is linked to a chain of activities or part of a group of activities. The activity
may involve one or more people or teams. Those people and/or teams may appear
multiple times in your list activities and you will likely want to visit activities
in related blocks and not in isolation.
There is one further complication that is far more important. “Ticking” off
Tasks does provide you with a list of mini-achievements, but do these “ticked” off
items give you a sense of where you have come from and where you are going?
The underlying and fundamental human need at play here is linked to goal recognition
or having a sense of accomplishment. If we do not often reach this sense of
accomplishment we slowly but surely get tired, worn-out and bored with what we are
doing. The things that used to have us bouncing out of bed in the morning,
do not matter any more. A sense of accomplishment comes simply by seeing in
every action you take, no matter how small, your own progress against a bigger picture
goal.
Whilst at the core of the challenge that confronts us is the ability to quickly
and easily capture, process and dispatch or revisit requests, true success and fulfilment
requires something more.
A possible answer involves a method for putting all those requests and tasks into
context.
The context is the goals and desires that govern our daily life. If the task
lists discussed above, were grouped and facilitated in such away that they were
clearly identifiable again goals then each “tick” would be a step closer to that
goal. By seeing these completed tasks as steps towards a goal we will have
a better chance of achieving the sense of accomplishment on a daily, hourly or even
minute-by-minute basis.
See The Method.
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