Archive for April, 2008

After the 5-1 win of the Red Wings over the Avs I did a quick search for some game video.  I found this great clip of the some of the fights that have happened between players.   The rivalry between the Red Wings and  the Avalanche is legendary.  I personally believe these kind of rivalries in sports, business, or personal lives are very important to raising your game to the next level.   Watch, enjoy…

Rivalry Renewed: Red Wings vs. Avalanche - ESPN Video

UPDATE: The wings won again last night bringing the series from 2-0 to 3-0; a lead that the Avalanche will likely not be able to come back from.   Good for the wings. 

So I have tried it all… Getting things Done and all the other organizational strategies, but my mind is way to fluid and I can never seem to stick to any of the plans.   I recently discovered the Action Method, which makes a lot of sense to me and I recommend everyone try it.   I look at these processes as tools; arrows in my quiver if you will.  

I recently began planning my projects by setting goals, plans and communications (I will discuss more on a later post).  Each day I review these and look to move the bar as far forward as I can by focusing on actions I can take today given my priorities and meeting schedule.  

The best 30 mins of my day.

Before you get started each morning I recommend reviewing your schedule at a very high level, as busy as I am this activity takes only 30 minutes.  I use the Emergent Task Planner created by David Seah.   This tool allows me to block out time on the right for when I know I have to be in a meeting or other location than at my desk.   

I can then identify were I will be able to work on my actions and how much time I will have for each action. I also fill in the form with priority so that if I need to change up my schedule I can do so by changing the time dedicated to lower priority events.

Now I know how much time I will have to work on the actions that need to be accomplished. 

Think ahead to the consequences of your actions

Before I write down my actions, I take a moment ad review the actions of the day before and consider the cost of these actions.  Will they move the bar? Not everything you have to do is work doing and being busy is not why you were hired.  I like to say that "if it is inevitable that my projects would be complete, my job is unnecessary."  

Select things that will make the most impact for your business and against the projects that you are focused on.

What is an action?

According to the Action method site an action will:

point to tasks to be completed. Each action step should start with a verb (ie.: follow up with x, review y, meet with z).

This definition is great, because it helps me to break my work down into what actually needs to be done.  On the downside a person needs to be able to elevate themselves out of the tactical so that they can ensure they are doing work that best meets your strategy.  

All actions should point to one or more of the goals you set during the goal setting of a project phase.

Time tracker

I work better when I am just a bit under the gun.   So I set a timer for 30 minutes on my desk and I try to complete tasks in 30 minute intervals.   So when you write the actions on the left side of the time tracker I assign a estimate of how long it will take me to complete the action.    When I have completed the task I put the actual completion time on the form so that I can review and make better estimates in the future.   I guess this is a skill I learned from PSP or CMMi or somewhere else, but I find I am getting more accurate all the time.  

Dealing with Chaos

There has never been a day where it went exactly as I wrote it down.  There are always interruptions, schedule changes or emergencies.  So I write in the note section any thing that comes up during the day. and I use little stickies for when a hi-pri action happens.   I don’t beat up on myself if things don’t happen as I planned.   This happens.   The goal of this or any GTD program is to ensure that nothing gets lost in the daily shuffle. 

Listen to this and be ashamed. We are all so smug.

Marketplace: Those Mac users think they’re so cool

I use notebooks a lot.   They really help me get away from the many potential distractions that my laptop offers and as much as I wish it was, OneNote just isn’t as sexy as a great worn moleskin.  Well when I was in New York,  I stumbled upon another very cool notebook.     I highly recommend that you check it out. 

Postalco began in Brooklyn, New York and there product is only available in high end retail shops, but there are a few places to get them on line.  

The covers on these notebooks are really special and I can’t really describe the character that they bring, but if you area a follower of the action method these note books have lots of room to use the active stickers or notes.

I love these notebooks almost as much as my go to moleskin.  Hey, man cannot live on bread alone and neither should a knowledge worker rely on only one hipster style PDA (aka the Moleskin).  

The pens that I trust most also don’t smear or smudge like in some notebooks. This is a big plus if you are doing any amount of drawing or sketching  in the pages.  Although some pens may bleed through just a bit…   Be choosy.

So if you get a chance visit the Postalco site and grab your self some brown or yellow notepads.

POSTALCO

So those of you who know me personally may know that i have been on a three year battle to get back in shape.   A year ago I made the tough decision to do the 20/20 program that is offered by the ProClub in Bellevue WA.   This program helped me in the following ways:

• Trained me how to eat and what to eat to feel full
• Gave me discipline to workout on a consistent schedule
• Gave me a sense of pride and well-being that I carried into my daily life

I lost 45 pounds and moved from a 38 to 33 jean size and my career was moving better than ever.   Then three things happened that really impacted my ability to continue with this growth;

• I made a decision in October to move from my team in MSDN and TechNet to Live Search. 
• My trainer quit working for the Proclub
• Pubcon 2007

I got distracted…  I gained 5 pounds back and have never gotten back into my routine.   I ate bad things and had sporadic exercise.   So I have made a decision to once again make public my plan to get back on track.  So what am I going to do about it.  Like many of you, I have the long-term desire to be fit and with any luck be the Adonis always hoped I would be (J/K).Unfortunately, it is easier to give into the short term pleasures of twitter and achieving more financially oriented goals. Basically, I’m too easily distracted by short term nagging items to organize my life for long term gains.

This is my commitment then, as I blog about other things, from time to time you will see blog posts about this journey.  In my next post on this topic I will lay out my plan for fitness success.  In it I will also try and follow the principles that I use in my regular project management process.

Yep that’s right.  I will be PM’ing my way to a new me.  

P.S.To be fair: Following the 20/20 program I was in the best shape of my life.  Unlike a lot of people who are working against fitness goals, I am still in really good shape, but I know I can do more.   Working with a doctor and a trainer is the best way to develop a plan that can work for you.