Saturday, March 21, 2009

44. PROCESS (2ND STAGE OF MANAGING WORKFLOW FOR BUSINESS)

After you’ve made your collection, you need to go over each item and ask yourself:What is it? Most of us keep things in our basket for days, months or years (such as emails from other departments, work colleagues, etc) simply because we failed to really identify what they are or what they mean to us, and if we really need to do something about them. Is it actionable? If the answer is yes, then decide what the action should be and do it. If the answer is information (reference).

Deciding on the next action for something simply means deciding on the next physical, visible activity that needs to be engaged in, in order to move the current reality toward completion. It can simply mean making a phone call, writing down ideas for the next meeting, talking to someone, or doing research. no, then you can either throw it out, or keep it because it might need action in the future (incubate), or keep it because it could be useful.

After you’ve decided on the next action, you have three options: Do it, Delegate it, or Defer it. If an action takes less than two minutes, it should be done at the moment it is defined. If the action takes longer than two minutes, ask yourself if you’re the right person to do it. If the answer is no, delegate it. If the action takes longer than two minutes, and you’re the right person to do it, defer acting on it until later and track it on one or more “Next Action” lists.

Companies are continuously evolving and people have to change and evolve to keep up. While your parents held the same jobs for forty or fifty years, most people these days are more like free agents, and change jobs and careers several times for continual growth Aside from work, you are probably trying to do several other personal projects or tasks you want or need to achieve and accomplish

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