May 12, 2011<\/p>\n
Here’s an excerpt from the newly updated Outlook book<\/a>. It is about what to do with “squishy” tasks, things you are not really sure how to proceed on. Like that big report you need to write and you do not know what to do next for it. If you just enter “Write Report” on your task list, you will skip over it every time since there is no clear next step. Well, I say the next step is to… “determine the next step”—write that down! Here’s the book excerpt (page 138) that addresses that:<\/p>\n Sometimes, when you enter a task, you cannot decide what the next action on a task is or you do not have time to decide. That\u2019s okay. Just write \u201cDetermine next step for\u2026 [task name].\u201d That creates a bridge to further activity when you can later identify follow-up steps. Other useful bridges: \u201cPlan work on\u2026 [task name]\u201dor \u201cStart work on\u2026 [task name].\u201d Sometimes just getting started on a task allows you to think it through, and by writing it that way you do not commit yourself to a large block that you might skip over when you see it on a busy day. Small-effort tasks like this are often useful as must-do-today (Critical Now) tasks to get you moving on a project that may be stalling out.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Look through your current task list and see if any tasks that have been sitting there a long time can be helped with this approach, and let me know how it goes!<\/p>\n Michael<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" May 12, 2011 Here’s an excerpt from the newly updated Outlook book. It is about what to do with “squishy” tasks, things you are not really sure how to proceed on. Like that big report you need to write and … Continue reading