I continue to hit the hurdle of whether to write in my handwritten journal or on these kind of blogs, and it sort of stalls me over. Then there is this whole thought around writing for linkedin. Then there is sketching, Eva’s achievement Journal, so much piled up.
Well, Last week I tried something around getting things done - a simple excel which will help me keep track of most important and urgent projects at work and then just physically writing down what I did each day for that project. A screenshot is here
First, listed down the tasks and tried to see two main cuts - Whether its Urgent , and whether its in control or total chaos.
Of course - one which are urgent and in Chaos need to be tackled first.
This is not really an exercise to be more productive, its more about confronting my fears.
I had noticed that critical tasks which I am scared of, were the ones which were in chaos, getting delayed, and basically had me delaying them. The consequence of delaying them is scary but then the task itself is scary so in short term - it seemed like avoiding it is the right way.
But how does one pick what is “Urgent”?
To me - what comes from Boss, and more importantly Boss’s Boss (The chief) is urgent/top priority. These are the tasks which will make you immediately look bad. You may be on top of 10 things , but these are those tasks which can immediately blemish your image. So these were marked urgent , after I wrote who assigned these tasks.
There are a lot of tasks which are me - to take initiative and then show. They are urgent/important too, but no one really asked me to do them. Those go in Self.
Next : I picked the top 5 tasks to be finished in the week - and decided to write by hand What I was doing on them
Basically - Printed this out and then wrote against each task what I did for it each day.
Confronting the Fears
Instead of thinking about how huge the task was, how I had no idea what to do , how this was a task for which I may screw up everything blah blah and all of the doomsday thoughts :
This sheet became about thinking one step I can take today to fill this box. I just can’t leave it blank was the point. Maybe just, write a mail ? Reach out finance?
Suddenly, the scary tasks seemed a bit more cuter. It also gave a sense of being a step ahead, like I knew whats going on and where I want to be to get it done.
Its week 2 for this, I am still working on same 5 tasks, but a LOT got done, and I feel a lot less anxiety.
Once a Geek, Always a Geek - What next?
Next, I kept Weekly reflection and plan slots in the Calendar. And as I reflect on this , I realize some key points which I will blend in :
This is equally important for personal projects. A LOT gets postponed because of space which office takes away - both physically in time and in mind
There will be some tasks which need a “Time Box” - just committing some hours over the week. For eg : Reading fiction, practicing Piano, walking.
EVA is now 5 years old, and I am overwhelmed with the realization that a lot of things which are fun right now, will not be in existence really soon. For example me picking her up and making an airplane out of her, walkng with her and pretending random trees are dinosaurs and then running to save ourselves, telling her very random things like Moons of Neptune - without making her question why she needs to know it? Asking her to sketch anything in the world and she actually doing it because she is not self-conscious yet. (Also I will cease to be the coolest person she knows, soon)
There has be to a place where all tasks get written the moment they hit the mind - like the “In Sheet”. Then pick the ones which seem critical.
Some “tasks” are actually “aspirations” - Be Healthier, Read the whole book, Learn to code, learn the Piano. They probably need to be written separately and then pick between “Now” and “Someday for sure”
I can make a complex jungle out of this small little framework, but that is precisely what has stopped me from progressing in the past. So lets keep it simple I guess !
So relatable! Loved the idea
Keep it simple