The Surprising Benefits of Writing Things Down
The foundation for getting more done in less time.
👋 Welcome to The Influential Project Manager, a weekly newsletter covering the essentials of successful project leadership.
Today’s Overview:
This week we’re going to cover:
1 productivity tip: The power of the list
1 book recommendation: How to achieve goals
1 quote to ponder: How things are built
Productivity Tip: Write Things Down
The theme of this week’s newsletter is about productivity and striving to get more done in less time so you can focus on your most important goals.
While you will hear me talk a lot about working hard, I’m equally about working smart. Working hard + smart gives you the ability to always move forward professionally and personally.
In my experience, there are many qualities that matter in terms of being more productive, effective, and producing more results.
Your attitude matters.
Your work ethic matters.
Your ability to get along with others matters.
However, I believe there is one quality that really matters:
Your ability to get sh*t done and make things happen.
The power of the list can help this effort. List are one of the best ways you can drive clarity and action.
You can use a list for yourself, to help you prioritize items, focus your attention, identify your goals, and remember important things.
I make lists all the time. I use lists for myself and for my teams. For example, the list for myself is held on the Apple notes app so it is available and accessible across all my devices. It’s named in my app as the “Master Builder.”
From there I break down things further. I make a weekly to-do list, a daily to-do list, and a team list. I also make a list of the project’s highest goals and initiatives. How you create and manage your list is a nuance that you will need to uncover for yourself.
Having a list helps everybody see what’s important. It helps focus. It helps drive results. Lists are also a great way to build a sense of progress. It’s fun to cross-things off, and say, “Done.”
6 Benefits of Writing Things Down
Your preserve your best thinking and experiences for the long term.
You’re more likely to remember information.
You get things done and make things happen.
You create knowledge that wasn’t there before.
You get numerous health benefits.
You can set aside ideas to gain objectivity.
Before going into construction management, I was already studying the Getting Things Done philosophy for productivity. However, managing over $300M worth of construction has definitely improved my ability to organize the chaos.
I learned and practiced a framework to help me properly digest and prioritize all the incoming information, tasks, and opportunities.
Getting Things Done
Mastering the 5 step framework below will allow you to get more done in less time so you can focus on your wildly important goals.
Here’s how the 5 Step Framework for Getting Things Done works:
CAPTURE – Collect what has your attention – use a notepad/app to capture 100% of everything that has your attention. Little, big, personal, and professional – all your to-do’s, projects, follow ups, initiatives, things to handle or finish.
CLARIFY – Process what it means – is it actionable? If no, then trash it. If yes, decide the next action. If it takes less than 2 minutes, do it NOW. If not, delegate it or put it on a list to do when you can.
ORGANIZE – Put it where it belongs – Put action reminders on the right lists.
REFLECT – Review frequently – Look over your lists as often as necessary to determine what to do next. Update your lists, and clear your mind. For reference, I am typically reviewing my list 30 - 60 minutes per day.
ENGAGE – Simply Do – Use your system to take appropriate actions at the right time with confidence.
You wouldn’t think something so easy to make and dumb could have such a huge impact on your life, that is unless you have a set of important lists that you use on a daily basis.
They help you remember mundane things that you would forget otherwise and provide a way for you to stay organized.
The act of writing forces you to organize and make concrete all the emotional turbulence swirling around in your brain.
Vague feelings become structured and measured. Your self-contradictions are laid bare. Rereading what you write reveals your own logic (or lack there of). And it often reveals new perspectives you hadn’t considered.
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Book Recommendation
The 4 Disciplines of Execution: Achieving your wildly important goals by Jim Huling and Chris McChesney
This week I’d like to recommend a book I read a couple years ago and recently skimmed back through. I recall when reading it having that “aha” moment in how I approached running my operations.
The “aha” moment: the moment of understanding when two smaller truths connect and a greater truth is revealed.
Key Takeaways:
4 Disciplines of Execution: 1) Focus on the wildly important 2) Act on lead measures 3) Keep a compelling scoreboard 4) Create a cadence of accountability.
Know the difference between the “whirlwind” and you’re strategic goals (“Wildly Important Goals”).
Whirlwind: the massive amount of energy that’s necessary just to keep your operation going on a day-to-day basis. Ironically, it also the thing that makes it so hard to execute anything new. The whirlwind robs you of the focus needed to move your team forward but is what keeps you in business.
Wildly Important Goal (WIG): a selected goal where if you were to achieve it, it would likely yield breakthrough results. A goal that is critical and will be given special focus and attention. Requires a change in behavior to achieve.
Leaders seldom differentiate between the whirlwind and strategic goals, because they are both necessary to the survival of the organization.
The whirlwind is urgent, and it acts on you and everyone working for you every minute of every day.
Focus your finest efforts on the one thing that will make the biggest difference. One objective that will be separated out from your “whirlwind” and given intense focus. Once a WIG is achieved, it returns to your whirlwind which creates a higher performing whirlwind.
Keep a compelling score board on your project teams. Incorporate statistics to allow for peak team performance. Review statistics in weekly staff meetings. People play differently when they’re keeping score.
Quote to Ponder
Let me know in the comments or send me an email on what you liked, didn’t like, want to see more of in the future.
Until next week,
Kyle Nitchen
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I love the Getting Things Done framework. Reading that book years back changed the way I thought about things.
I may not follow the process to a T but the philosophy has stayed with me.