linear processes at work

This is the opposite of the comments on shuffle, for balance.

Sometimes you need to have a complete list of all the things you need to do listed in some nice linear list, which you go down in an orderly way one at a time until the list is complete.

Note however that your email inbox is a lousy place to manage such an orderly complete list, since relatively random things are going to arrive and get you out of the flow of working your way down that list. For that reason alone - never mind the presence of time-sucking occupational spam - it's better to keep your nice linear checklists out of your inboxes. This is reason enough to something radical to stay out of your inbox all day - if you just spent all your time answering the top of the stack you'd get thrashed around badly.

A big risk in having a linear process is getting the wrong things on the todo list, and thus spending good concentrated time doing the wrong task. This is especially risky when you have a lot of people involved in a process and when one person goes heads-down to finish something - the wrong thing. Regular check-ins and pairing on tasks helps a lot to reduce isolation.

Comments

[karen]

A friend at work just sold his house, and spent a couple days doing lots of 15-minute tasks that he felt should have been done a long time ago - like, repaint the hot chocolate stains on a small area of ceiling. He vows to keep up to date on those small tasks.

Maybe more of us need a chore jar like Hi and Lois in the comics.