Task Hotbox
I’ve noticed a few things about my workflow lately. One area of focus has been going in the right order, and that means taking more time to think and plan.
I spend almost as much time considering this order as I do executing tasks, and that can bother some folks. Remember, though: it’s ready, then aim, and finally, fire. We should probably all spend more time on the aiming and readying phases, and waste fewer bullets.
Other people think it’s time to act right now, and I often think it’s time to think some more.
While falling dominos is the obvious analogy to make, leave it to my brain to create a wild connection with bowling balls instead.
I started thinking about each week’s tasks ahead like a bowling ball I can start rolling down one lane, and then I get to run over to the next lane and start another really slow ball rolling down there. The idea is to knock over the maximum number of pins with the least amount of energy, so I can reach out to someone to start the ball rolling on a project, so to speak—and while that’s happening, I can start another ball rolling with a large language model doing some deep research, just as one potential example.
I can revisit the balls during the week, but even if I never get a chance to follow up, at least I know the process has begun.
So, that’s the gist of the process, and lots of things get done this way. It’s a very regular, very weekly cadence whereby I can start several important projects and make sure they’re at least on the table—er, in the lanes.
However, there’s a secondary component of my workflow that seems to operate outside of this normal pathway that I want to introduce to you today.
This is for when I have down time during the week, and I want to get some meaningful work done. My weekly flow gives me this chance regularly, and it’s not something I’ve always had in my life, so I really appreciate having this extra space to drive projects forward.
I could check on those bowling balls if I want to, but which one should I address first? That usually depends on the progress at the moment—the dependency, in other words. Whatever bowling ball begins rolling at the start of the week usually depends on someone else doing a thing to it before I can call it done.
Determining which ball to massage can take some time, and there are other projects that are nice-to-haves that constantly live in the back of my mind. These are nagging little things I’ve wanted to address for a while, or ideas that might be nice to explore at some point—not things that need to be done immediately.
I was traveling and visiting my folks, and feeling like I just couldn’t get a handle on everything I was supposed to be working on. The concept of keeping a little repository of hot ideas in my mind gradually came to fruition. This little idea hotbox now holds the bowling balls and one or two other tasks near the front of those stretch projects, but it also keeps them in order.
The hotbox has a list of potential projects I can jump in and work on, given a free day. I can then plot out how long it’ll take me to get to that seventh task on my list—it depends on how many free work days I’ll have coming up.
I’ll certainly keep you posted as this process evolves, but I want to ask you: what methods do you use to keep track of ideas you want to execute? Do you keep a running order of operations inside a hotbox, as I’ve begun doing, or have you figured out a way that works better for you?
Kingpin or The Big Lebowski: which bowling movie is funnier?
I turn companies around operationally for a living, and have been doing so in manufacturing and supply chain executive management for fifty years now. I'm still in demand; one of the reasons why is because I listen, I ask questions, I listen more than I talk and, of course, I'm successful at what I do.
As a techie, I've used every app out there to think, plan, "have a second brain," etc. ad nauseam. However, I always come back to my old standby - a legal pad and a pen. There is nothing like having the haptic sense with a pen, and the kinetic feel of being able to write simultaneously while either listening, questioning or advising. I've perfected the technique to the point that I can write a full page of notes without once looking at the paper or ensuring I'm writing in a straight line. It's just second nature to me now.
Finally, I have dozens of tasks to do daily, and the art of planning and strategizing is keen on the ability to designate the relative importance, priority, or sequence of tasks PLUS being able to change on a dime when situations or circumstances warrant.
I have used computers since the 1960's, I can code, and there is very little I can't do with a keyboard. I even recently got certified in a couple of AI specialties, and that helps as well. But nothing gets the results than being able to listen and write simultaneously while still engaging with my subject.
I am in the process of going through thousands of unread emails. I am definitely grouping it all into collections by sender but I think I need to switch to just tackling it by a week per day. It's so much, but my brain won't let me just hit "check all" and then delete. I need to acknowledge every single one. Why??