Projects and next actions at weekly review

K

Kloun

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The question is for those of you who use heavily the project list. At weekly review when going through your project list do you create a new next action based on the current situation in your head or go and check if you have any next actions for this project somewhere in your lists and if needed adjust it to the current situation?

What is your algorithm during weekly review for new na's creation?
 
I check each project to ensure there is at least one next action already in lists or create one. Often, I create a waiting for or @call.

Another check is to see if each next action has (or needs creating) a project. I have a couple of genuine standalone next actions, but sometimes fail to identify a project until the weekly review.

I'm experimenting with subtasks (Toodledo + Ultimate To Do List on Android) so the project links to next actions. Jury is still out whether this extra complexity makes the system more effective.
 
I find that my brain intuitively links up the next action lists that I have just reviewed as part of the WR with the project list as I go down it so it feels quite quick to run through and keep on top of. The project will often jar slightly as I look at it if there is no NA or if movement on it hasn't happened for a while; at that point I decide if an action or WF is needed, or if the project should actually be on Sd/Mb list. I've found that the more regular my review is, the easier and more natural this process becomes.
 
Kloun;91908 said:
project list do you create a new next action based on the current situation in your head
Click to expand...
In your head or in the project plan, but I always create new NAs. That way I am sure every project has at least one NA and that's the point of the exercise. Double-entries of NAs are a bad thing, because.... ... no, they are not. They do no harm. On the contrary they are fun, because I get to click more of those list-items to 'done!' without even having to work for each one, hehe.
 
So the algorithm is that:

1. Go through project list and create at least one NA for each
2. Go through NA list and delete double-entry or create new projects for NA w/o one

right?
 
I use software that links a project to Next Action. When I coach staff about weekly reviews I usually start with a simple system that wont link the Next Action to the Project (such as paper lists). When I do the weekly review with them it is a little annoying that I we have to search for whether the Next Action got knocked off – but only a little. I’d say its an advantage to have them linked, but wouldn’t be enough to make me change my entire system.

In terms of the overall process, I

1)Go through all my NA lists and knock off any I completed but didn’t knock off
2)Go through my SDMB lists and move anything to Projects that I think should be live
3)Go through the Projects list without creating NAs and check that I want them all to be there (sometime a live project goes on the backburner for example), or knock them off if completed
4)Go through the Projects list again, and create an NA for each one.

This is weekly. Sometimes I have an additional look at 30K+ type stuff, but not every week.
 
Kloun;91930 said:
1. Go through project list and create at least one NA for each
2. Go through NA list and delete double-entry or create new projects for NA w/o one
Click to expand...

Yes, although not every NA will have a project - I have a small number that stand alone.
 
Kloun;91930 said:
So the algorithm is that:

1. Go through project list and create at least one NA for each
Click to expand...
That's it.
I could clean up, but why? During the week, when working I can catch the double-entry NAs. NAs without projects exist because some come from the 20,000 ft altitude.
 
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