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I find that this fails if your job involves putting out fires and responding to unpredictable client needs. I used to make a very concrete schedule at the start

I find that this fails if your job involves putting out fires and responding to unpredictable client needs. I used to make a very concrete schedule at the start of a week and by midweek most of it was out the window. I do usually keep small must-do-this-week list, and the key for me in planning is estimating the duration of each task so that I can take advantage of what time I do get, and choose the right task for the time I have.

nhebb 10y ago
When I was a manufacturing engineer, I used to have a short list of long term projects, a fair list of medium term projects, and a long list of tasks. A rolling todo list was the only way to stay on top of things. You can't be the Pinball Wizard when the job requires you to be the pinball.
- bigger_cheese 10y ago
  >When I was a manufacturing engineer, I used to have a short list of long term projects, a fair list of medium term projects, and a long list of tasks. A rolling todo list was the only way to stay on top of things. I'm in a similar situation. This is what works for me. I use a spreadsheet to keep track of what I'm working on currently and my progress so far. I don't update it all the time - probably something like every 3 to 4 days. sometimes it's as simple as adding a line to say "Emailed Phil with my recommendations, waiting to hear back from him - call him if no word by 23rd". I'm constantly having to jump between various projects. This is the only way I've found to keep track of status of various things. Sometimes I'll be out on plant dealing with an issue all day or supervising a trial or tied up with meetings etc. Before I adopted this system it was a nightmare picking things up again after a few days away from my desk.
  - cableshaft 10y ago
    A spreadsheet is an interesting thought for juggling status of a bunch of different projects. I'll try that, thanks!
    - oddlyaromatic 10y ago
      Check out airtable- I use it for a similar purpose for long term things.

nhebb 10y ago

When I was a manufacturing engineer, I used to have a short list of long term projects, a fair list of medium term projects, and a long list of tasks. A rolling todo list was the only way to stay on top of things. You can't be the Pinball Wizard when the job requires you to be the pinball.

bigger_cheese 10y ago
>When I was a manufacturing engineer, I used to have a short list of long term projects, a fair list of medium term projects, and a long list of tasks. A rolling todo list was the only way to stay on top of things. I'm in a similar situation. This is what works for me. I use a spreadsheet to keep track of what I'm working on currently and my progress so far. I don't update it all the time - probably something like every 3 to 4 days. sometimes it's as simple as adding a line to say "Emailed Phil with my recommendations, waiting to hear back from him - call him if no word by 23rd". I'm constantly having to jump between various projects. This is the only way I've found to keep track of status of various things. Sometimes I'll be out on plant dealing with an issue all day or supervising a trial or tied up with meetings etc. Before I adopted this system it was a nightmare picking things up again after a few days away from my desk.
- cableshaft 10y ago
  A spreadsheet is an interesting thought for juggling status of a bunch of different projects. I'll try that, thanks!
  - oddlyaromatic 10y ago
    Check out airtable- I use it for a similar purpose for long term things.