Non Specific actions which aren't actionable

[Tomer]

Hello everyone,
I was wandering how to deal with too general and actionable piece of advice s, requests and demands.
For example:
- my boss could ask me to pay more attention to particular subject or to demand specific behavior from me or my colleagues.

Those kind of demands are not "classic" tasks as we familiar with GTD. In this case my task is not a specific task in one hand, and in the other hand isn't a project that contains several tasks.

What is your opinion? How do you encounter this issue?

Thank you all
Tomer

 

[PTKen]

I agree that these are not tasks. I would treat these as habits. You could try using a "Don't Break the Chain" style habit app to help you to remember to pay more attention to a project (I assume it's a long term project) or to develop a new behavior. There are a lot of good ones available and I can make recommendations if you like. I personally use "Habit List" on the iPhone for this type of thing.

 

[Gardener]

I would treat it as a project. But I feel the need for a specific example, so that I can give specific examples of how I would treat it as a project.

 

[Tomer]

Hi guys.
First of all, thank you for your reply.
Here are some examples I can think of:
* my supervisor once asked me to pay more attention on the behavior of my subordinates. This "task" isn't specific and also very hard to comprehend as a long term project.

* as PTKen mentioned, I strugle dealing with new habits or stopping bad habits in GTD. (paying attention to my posture while sitting in the office etc.)

 

[jenkins]

Hello everyone,
I was wandering how to deal with too general and actionable piece of advice s, requests and demands.
For example:
- my boss could ask me to pay more attention to particular subject or to demand specific behavior from me or my colleagues.

Those kind of demands are not "classic" tasks as we familiar with GTD. In this case my task is not a specific task in one hand, and in the other hand isn't a project that contains several tasks.

What is your opinion? How do you encounter this issue?

Thank you all
Tomer

I feel like versions of this question come up frequently, and my answer is always the same: CHECKLISTS.

A checklist can simply be a piece of paper with bulleted items. You can list out all the pieces of advice, behaviors to reinforce, etc., and then you decide "How often do I want to look at this list?" Once a week would probably do the trick.

Alternative option: Write the advice on a post-it and stick it somewhere you look frequently. For example, I sometimes keep daily revenue goals on a post-it on my filing cabinet next to my computer.

If that doesn't sound like "GTD," remember David Allen talking about sticking that important document under your keys by the door so you don't forget it on the way to work.

 

[bcmyers2112]

jenkins: You make a great point. One of my GTD stumbling blocks has been a tendency to focus on the mechanics of managing lists of projects and actions. Sometimes dealing with something is as simple as "putting it by the door."

But I think other posters like Gardener have a point, too. Sometimes developing a new habit requires actions to start and/or support it. For instance, getting into the habit of exercising might begin with joining a gym, and improving some facet of one's supervisory skills might begin with getting coaching or training.

 

[Gardener]

* my supervisor once asked me to pay more attention on the behavior of my subordinates. This "task" isn't specific and also very hard to comprehend as a long term project.

Here, I would form a project, even though at the beginning I wouldn't know exactly what I'd do. So I make a project:

-- Project: Form a strategy for better subordinate behavior awareness.

In the weekly review I stare at the project, not sure what to do. So I decide to schedule time for staring at the project and wondering what to do. I create a next action:

-- Next Action: Spend an hour writing thoughts on this subject.

So at some point I spend the hour, I write some notes, I search my brain for subordinate behavior issues that have come up lately. I realize that I've been assuming that "pay attention" means watching for misbehavior and correcting it, but I note that I want to confirm that assumption--maybe it instead refers to remembering good behavior for performance reviews. I make a list of bad behaviors that have happened.

So now I think I may know what's going on, but before I invest a bunch of time, I want to make sure my guesses are right. My notes are a mess and I'm moving on to an unrelated task, so I add a Next Action for when I get back to this:

-- Next Action: Write up a problem summary for boss's eyes.

At some point, I write the summary. My next action is:

-- Next Action: Meet with boss to get consensus on employee behavior problem summary.

I ask the boss for a meeting, so this project is WAITING FOR until that meeting happens.

In the meeting, the boss agrees with some of my summary and corrects some of it, and tells me that the big issue right now is employees using bad language in front of customers. So I carefully put the summary away, because I will be addressing other behaviors later, and I start thinking about what to do about employee language. Maybe I add another "Spend an hour writing thoughts..." Next Action.

And so on.

 

[jenkins]

Here, I would form a project, even though at the beginning I wouldn't know exactly what I'd do. So I make a project:

-- Project: Form a strategy for better subordinate behavior awareness.

In the weekly review I stare at the project, not sure what to do. So I decide to schedule time for staring at the project and wondering what to do. I create a next action:

-- Next Action: Spend an hour writing thoughts on this subject.

So at some point I spend the hour, I write some notes, I search my brain for subordinate behavior issues that have come up lately. I realize that I've been assuming that "pay attention" means watching for misbehavior and correcting it, but I note that I want to confirm that assumption--maybe it instead refers to remembering good behavior for performance reviews. I make a list of bad behaviors that have happened.

So now I think I may know what's going on, but before I invest a bunch of time, I want to make sure my guesses are right. My notes are a mess and I'm moving on to an unrelated task, so I add a Next Action for when I get back to this:

-- Next Action: Write up a problem summary for boss's eyes.

At some point, I write the summary. My next action is:

-- Next Action: Meet with boss to get consensus on employee behavior problem summary.

I ask the boss for a meeting, so this project is WAITING FOR until that meeting happens.

In the meeting, the boss agrees with some of my summary and corrects some of it, and tells me that the big issue right now is employees using bad language in front of customers. So I carefully put the summary away, because I will be addressing other behaviors later, and I start thinking about what to do about employee language. Maybe I add another "Spend an hour writing thoughts..." Next Action.

And so on.

Good points here. I still think that at the end of this all, the solution probably looks like a checklist or possibly some affirmations "I redirect employees in the moment when they are using bad language, I do not hesitate to provide constructive feedback".

 

[bcmyers2112]

Good points here. I still think that at the end of this all, the solution probably looks like a checklist or possibly some affirmations "I redirect employees in the moment when they are using bad language, I do not hesitate to provide constructive feedback".

The solution most certainly could be a checklist. Or it could be a "project" the way GTD defines it, with defined next actions. Or it could be something else entirely. These situations can provide wonderful opportunities to get creative.

By way of example, back before I got into sales I was a "lead generator" (someone who does cold-calling for salespeople to uncover leads) and I fell short of my first quarterly lead quota. I was determined not to let that happen again. I needed more than an affirmation, but "get better at my job" was a little too undefined a task for me (even though I hadn't discovered GTD at this point in my life).

I was taking notes on every call I made, so I got two stack baskets and set them next to each other. I put notes from successful calls (i.e. that resulted in a lead) in one basket and notes from unsuccessful calls in another. I reviewed them periodically to see if I could find a pattern, which I did. I was able to apply that knowledge to my work, and began meeting my quarterly lead targets consistently going forward.

I am not arguing against what you're saying, jenkins. Just the opposite. Checklists may be a solution, in some circumstances, for some people. I use them for that purpose. Another poster mentioned the "don't break the chain" method, which Jerry Seinfeld once used to discipline himself to write a new joke every day. You can do what Gardener suggests. Years ago, I found my own solution to the problem of improving my cold-calling skills. There are no shortage of creative and effective ways to attack the challenge of learning new skills and habits. I would encourage people to experiment to find what works for them.

 

[Gardener]

Good points here. I still think that at the end of this all, the solution probably looks like a checklist or possibly some affirmations "I redirect employees in the moment when they are using bad language, I do not hesitate to provide constructive feedback".

Part of the difference may be whether what you need to do is something that you fully understand and know how to do, and just need a motivator, or something that you don't fully understand and need to explore and discover.

 

[petdr]

Part of the difference may be whether what you need to do is something that you fully understand and know how to do, and just need a motivator, or something that you don't fully understand and need to explore and discover.

Excellent point. Checklists may be fine with the former but may not be as effective in the latter. When you don't understand what needs to be done to "...redirect employees in the moment when they are using bad language...," the item will just sit on the checklist. The process Gardener described breaks the project down into smaller chunks with Next Actions as needed to provide a more physical framework to a project that may seem vague and non-actionable.

 

[jenkins]

Excellent point. Checklists may be fine with the former but may not be as effective in the latter. When you don't understand what needs to be done to "...redirect employees in the moment when they are using bad language...," the item will just sit on the checklist. The process Gardener described breaks the project down into smaller chunks with Next Actions as needed to provide a more physical framework to a project that may seem vague and non-actionable.

Indeed. I was saying that after that clarification is complete and you understand what needs to be done, there's still the matter of changing your behavior. And I believe checklists and affirmations provide the needed solution. And yes, before you get to that point, there may be a project with many next actions before you fully understand what the desired behavior involves.

But I agree with bcmyers2112 and Gardener too. I shouldn't make it seem like checklists/affirmations are always the solution in these cases (I happen to frequently find them useful and the end result of much of my brooding). I like your creative stack baskets solution. And other habit-forming tricks like "don't break the chain" or Benjamin Franklin's virtues chart can also be helpful. So your points are well-taken: Sometimes a project might lead you to implement some creative solution that can change your behavior. Checklists/affirmations are two tools among many.

 

[tismey]

* my supervisor once asked me to pay more attention on the behavior of my subordinates. This "task" isn't specific and also very hard to comprehend as a long term project.

Would you say that this is an area of responsibility for you? Perhaps the reason you're struggling to understand this as an Outcome / Next Action is because it actually fits more in Horizon 2 (20,000ft in old money). Horizon 2 items aren't Outcomes - they're ongoing areas of Focus or responsibility that feed into your Projects and Next Actions, and that will determine your priorities.

I have a 'Team Development' Area of Focus, and behaviour/performance fits under this for me. So when I periodically review my Areas of Focus during my Weekly Review (not usually weekly, usually each month or so), I see this and it triggers Projects or Actions accordingly. So for example, it might trigger me to capture an action to follow up with a team member about some feedback I received, or maybe remind me that I need to rearrange their 1:1 catch-ups post-holidays.

It took me a while to get to grips with Horizon 2 because unlike Horizons 1,3 and 4, they're not outcome-led. They are very powerful though, and there's a great webinar on them somewhere in the archives.

 

[treelike]

It took me a while to get to grips with Horizon 2 because unlike Horizons 1,3 and 4, they're not outcome-led. They are very powerful though, and there's a great webinar on them somewhere in the archives.

http://gettingthingsdone.com/2016/08/episode-20-defining-your-areas-of-focus/