Comments on: The Workflow of Work | Momentum Building

By: John R. Sedivy

John R. Sedivy — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 23:30:01 +0000

Yes, the KISS principle has served me well through the years. I've been trying to implement your rule of only keeping things on my to-do list for no longer than 12 hours, with varying success. Pretty tough to do!

By: Rob

Rob — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 01:37:52 +0000

Indeed, keep it simple stupid must be your motto when crafting a system to attack work with. I avoid using anything more complicated than simple formatting, colors, bold, italic. The capture tool is where it starts!

By: John R. Sedivy

John R. Sedivy — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 04:13:50 +0000

I liked your comment about using a pen and paper to capture items on your to-do list for project management. Sometimes the best solutions are the simplest. I have used a few project management tools, and although each has a strong point, each seemed to be missing something as well. As you stated, capturing to-do items on a notepad and completing by day's end ensures execution – what more does one need?

By: sam carpenter

sam carpenter — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 16:34:09 +0000

Very good Robert. It's the calendar thing and the documentation thing and it's most always worth what seems the “extra” time to stay organized. One can't measure the bad things/omissions that never happened, but one still has to put a value on the fact that they didn't happen! That's the hard part — taking the time. I stumbled around for two many years solving the same old problems over and over and God knows what good things didn't happen because they got lost in the shuffle. One must spend part of the day being persnickety.

I'm going to move my people to add the Googgledoc option.Thanks. -sam

By: sam carpenter

sam carpenter — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 09:34:09 +0000

I'm going to move my people to add the Googgledoc option.Thanks. -sam

By: Alan

Alan — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 15:36:27 +0000

Have you read Getting Things Done, by David Allen? His process is quite similar to yours. The core idea is having an input/capture medium, and then distributing that information into its various action channels.

Another thing he talks about is the importance of keeping the calendar sacred. Only use the calendar for action events. Going somewhere. Making a phone call. Spending an hour to brainstorm or work on a particular project.

Thanks for sharing, Robert!

By: Cody McKibben

Cody McKibben — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 01:00:12 +0000

As usual Rob, I’m impressed by the way you systematize things. This is a great guide for breaking down workflow—one that I need and will share with a few friends I know need to improve in this area too. Thanks

By: Thursday Bram

Thursday Bram — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 14:42:39 +0000

Having a solid workflow is beyond crucial. I could never have grown my freelancing business to the point where I could afford to outsource, without a workflow that required very little thought to work.

I think the system you’ve described is very simple — and that’s a good thing. It will work for just about anyone without a lot of tweaking. The more time you spend tweaking your workflow, of course, means less time to spend on your actual work.

By: Robert Granholm

Robert Granholm — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 14:39:18 +0000

Thanks Carmen. I totally agree! that’s why the above can be accessed and used with all free tools, from anywhere with a smartphone or computer. It has to be easy and available….best of luck in your organizational tweaks.

By: Carmen

Carmen — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 09:26:23 +0000

Interesting article. After reading your post and Corbett’s (freepursuits.com) today on very similar topics, I feel I have a whole bevy of new ideas to try in terms of getting organized or helping my clients organize. As I commented on Corbett’s, however, the trick for me is to not have the system be cumbersome. If it is I know I won’t use it over time.