The following is a list of general working habbits that I always aim to adhere to:
Note that many general actions may be replaced with an equivalent action in the chosen development methodology.
- Always have a plan for the next "period":
- 1 year plan (? 5,10,20 year plan)
- 1 month plan (At the start of each month)
- 1 week plan (and distributed to stakeholders)
- Done on Monday morning or Friday afternoon combined with a weekly GTD review.
- Make a list of goals to have done by the next Friday.
- For each goal have the following sections:
- WHAT are you going to do? Use action words such as direct, organize, coordinate, lead, develop, plan, build etc.
- WHY is this important to do at this time? What do you want to ultimately accomplish?
- HOW are you going to do it? (By...)
- Include goals from last week versus what was actually acheived in the week. This is useful for both the author and others included.
- Daily Action List (Done at the start of the day or the end of the day before. Also specify the things you will specifically not do) / Daily Standup - 15 minute cap (What did I do yesterday, What will I do today, do I have any impediments).
- For each work item, know where it stands in terms of it's priority and importance in relation to other tasks, and have a time estimate. Have a visual task board (To Do / In Progress / Done / Accepted columns) / product backlog and have an easy way of showing whats tasks will be for an additional task.
- Keep track of time/budget spent on each task against the initial estimate. Report back to project stakeholders as soon there is any revised estimate.
- Mindful about scope creep and effort creep.
- Effectively keep track of multiple commitments and regular proactive reporting of project status.
- Attempt to give an actual time estimate/guesstimate and/or range rather than 'soon', 'not sure' or 'as long as it takes' (PERT).
- Know how to give a commitment when necessary and know the difference.
- Always have an agenda for a meeting, decide on next action points for each item, who is responsible and send out a follow up email with key decisions / outcomes.
- Document and communicate concepts clearly.
- Inbox zero philosophy - attempt to have inbox cleared/processed at the end of every day with subfolders for: @Action @Someday/Maybe @Reference @Projects
- Always reply to emails promptly (within the same day) that require an answer, even if it is to let the sender know when to expect a more detailed answer.
- Remain professional for each scenario - try to look at the problem in terms of what is best for the organisation.
- Always remain constructive in conversation - for example instead of saying 'it won't work', explain what would work and how it would help the business.
- Practices the Pomodoro Technique when concentrated non-distracted effort is required.
Goal Setting
Goals should be SMART:
- Specific - A vague and nebulous goal inspires no one. A goal should be written so specifically that it can be visualized, smelled, tasted, or felt.
- Measurable - If you can't track it, you can't tell if you're moving toward or away from where you want to go. Write your goal in terms where it can be measured. Example: I will save $100 per month and place it into a savings account. This is trackable, you either do it or you don't.
- Attainable - Goals should force one to stretch to foster growth, but should be close enough so that you know it's possible to reach them.
- Relevant - Goals should be relevant to you or what you do. This is another way of saying they should interest you. Goals that are written, but don't interest you, are soon cast aside.
- Time Sensitive - Goals should have deadlines. A goal without a deadline is only a wish.
By using the SMART standard in goal-writing, goals will be inspiring and and written in such a way that facilitates their accomplishment.
~~ Bert Web
GTD Project Planning
- What - What is the project?
- Why - Why do we need to do the project?
- Vision - The project vision - be explicit about the outcome speaking in present tense as if it already exists.
- How - Use brainstorming to pad out as many ideas as possible.
- Organise - Come up with a list of key tasks, and fill out to a level of detail necessary to get it off your mind, the order at which they must occur etc. Develop a series of next actions from here. Remember that there can be more than one next action per project.. and some may be assigned to others (in the @waitingfor list). Any project with no next actions goes into the someday/maybe list.