Stretch Assignment #1 Recap: Mastered the To Do List
Stretch Assignments are posted every Monday to challenge you to constantly grow as an engineer.
Stretch Assignment #1: Master the To Do List
On Monday I gave myself the assignment to start keeping a really solid to do list at work. Now it’s the end of the week, how did I do? Well, first let me say this:
To Do Lists Were Never My Thing
Using a to do list consistently has been a challenge for me not just in my engineering career but through college as well. I’ve started personal and work lists in countless notebooks, spreadsheets, Outlook tasks, Google whatevers, but never stuck with one thing for very long. Not because I’m too lazy to keep it up but because my progression through tasks are so rarely ordered enough to be captured in a simple list.
I thought, my job couldn’t all be contained in a single notebook or app. Well if that were true, then how could my brain be expected to contain it all? At any given moment did I really know the status of all my tasks, what I’m waiting on from others and what gets priority? Maybe when I was a student or an analyst but now as a systems engineer? No, absolutely not. But that’s exactly what I was trying to.
Then Came the Stretch Assignment
My workload has been getting so large and disorganized this seemed like a great opportunity for this week’s Stretch Assignment. Clearly I had room to grow here. The values of a to do list only became apparent to me once I really committed myself to keeping one this week.
This time I started up OneNote. Since I hadn’t been actively keeping a task list, I spent over an hour Monday morning just building the foundations of the thing. I created a notebook tab for each high level job duty I have. It seems like I’ve been tasked with a variety of roles but it only took three tabs to cover everything I’m responsible for. Within each tab I can create as many pages as is necessary and fill those pages with what I need to in order to keep track of progress and lay out the next steps. And that’s the extent of the structure. The flexibility to structure Tab A completely different from Tab B or C is what makes me think this method will last for me.
Then Came the Nitty Gritty
Once emails and meetings started rolling in mid-week I did have to force myself to keep my to do list relevant. It took some extra time to document when things changed or when I completed something.
I found that as I went throughout my day with the to do list in the back of my mind I only focused on tasks that allowed me to tackle items on the list. It forced me to be more discerning with where I spent my time. I noticed there were more than a few small things that came up that I addressed immediately to avoid recording them on the to do list. Little productivity perks.
But the Real Pay Off…
My method of tracking my progress made my week so much less stressful. I think before I used a to do list a part of my brain just assumed I was falling behind with Task A and B because I had focused on Task C for most of the day. But with everything recorded I’m more comfortable leaving a couple tasks on the backburner so I can make some major progress on just one.
I’ve been happy with how this to do list method has made it easier to fill out a weekly report for my boss and to have an answer when someone asks what they can help with. Yes I do actually work in an environment where I get that question, it’s lovely.
After this week I had to admit something to myself (and now all of you): I wasn’t as naturally productive at my job as I thought. It turns out a little documentation tool and some self-discipline really improved what I got done every day. And there’s nothing wrong with that. I’ve discovered a tool that makes me more productive and gives me more control, I’m going to use it.
Keep Moving Forward
Enjoy your weekend and read up on next week’s Stretch Assignment!
