Waiting for vs @Agenda

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pkdolphin

Guest
If I ask my boss to do something, do I put the item on a waiting for list or under his node in my @Agenda list? Keeping a log of items under her @Agenda node seems like it would be easiest, but I want to see what other blackbelts are doing?
 

tfadams

Registered
I use @Agenda for items I want to cover during a formal meeting (like a Team or Staff meeting)

I use @<name> for information I want to cover with a specific person when I see them (whether a planned meeting or a one-on-one quick conversation in the hallway)
 
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intrigueme@aol.com

Guest
"@ Face???"

Happy New Year All!

Very ironic that this should come up... with the close of the year, and the beginning of the new (and all the days away from the office that it allows); I've been brainstorming "re-tooling" my system a bit.

Here's one of my observations:

- eliminate the @ People cat; since I have never really gotten a high volume of use out of it...Maybe replace w/@ Face-to-Face; to emphasize HOW I want to have the discussion (in other words, ONLY sensitive things that I want to discuss face-to-face) or move to the larger "context" where I normally see the person face-to-face
 
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AMS

Guest
First I have to say that this is nowhere near a blackbelt-level response! I have tried both ways, and ultimately date-stamped entries on my Waiting For list worked best for me. If I just attached them to a note on @Agenda under his name I wouldn't see or remember it until the weekly review (I never have gotten the hang of the Agenda category), and I never wanted to interrupt my review to go bug him about whatever it was I was waiting for. Also, as a point of reference, my interaction with my boss is constant (so I'm waiting on a significant number of things at any given time), and I use the Palm.
 

mondo

Registered
I keep the @Person category for the "agenda" when I am next at that person. When I've assigned the task, I then move it to @Waiting For, making sure that I add the persons initial as a prefix, and also a note at the end for date assigned, and due - looks like

DS - Provide staffing report (A:6/1, D:9/1)

As DA says, it is important to date stamp all items, and this is ever so much more so with Waiting For items.

I like to have all my WF's in a single place.
 

Nate

Registered
It's a bit cumbersome, but I'm trying out keeping individual notes in my Waiting For folder (using Evernote), tagged with project names. That way I can sort by project if needed.

Our workflow in my office has been to track all communication with suppliers on project specific Excel files. This meant that I could never see all of my calls or waiting fors at once. Very frustrating. Hope I'm taking a step in the "black belt" direction.
 

Folke

Registered
pkdolphin said:
If I ask my boss to do something, do I put the item on a waiting for list or under his node in my @Agenda list? Keeping a log of items under her @Agenda node seems like it would be easiest, but I want to see what other blackbelts are doing?

If it is something I have already asked someone to do, and am just waiting to see the ersults, I'd put it in Waiting. It it is something I will bring up no sooner than in a given meeting, I'd put in an Agenda. If it is something I will bring up with a person anytime I feel like contacting them or happen to have them on the phone or in front of me, I'd put it down as a next action with a Person context.

Just like you do, I also put a time stamp on every item - i.e. the date I put the item on that list. In addition, I sometimes also use a due date, but only when such a date has been explicitly agreed or imposed.
 

ChristinaSkaskiw

Registered
When I’m waiting for someone to get back to me, I put it on @waiting for, prefixed with the person’s name. If I’m to initiate something with another person, I put it on a generic @agenda prefixed with the person’s name. It’s easy enough to look at both lists, when I end up talking to the person. (Depending on your list manager, if you have the option to re-sort the lists in alphabetical order, all name prefixed items would end up together.) So similar to Folke, but I don’t have many meetings, so it makes little sense for me to separate @agenda from @person.

Having said that, I do make an exception with my husband, for whom I keep a separate context with both waiting for’s and things to bring up myself. If I end up working closely with another person, I may well have a separate context for that person in the same way.
 

mrpolarvortex

Registered
Like others have said, once I ask someone to do something, it goes under "waiting". Prior to that, it either goes under the @agenda (their name) IF I want to bring it up the next time i've got a scheduled meeting with them, OR it goes under @office if I want to do along with other general things throughout the workday and it can't wait until, say, the next scheduled face-to-face meeting.
 

mcogilvie

Registered
pkdolphin said:
If I ask my boss to do something, do I put the item on a waiting for list or under his node in my @Agenda list? Keeping a log of items under her @Agenda node seems like it would be easiest, but I want to see what other blackbelts are doing?

If you are going to bring it up the next time you see your boss, or at your next meeting, then it goes on your agenda list. If you are simply waiting to be informed it's done, then it's a waiting for. Note that it may be good practice to have a date (due date) at which you move an item from waiting for to agenda or even to something like "Email boss re ..." This is not supposed to be hard.
 

Oogiem

Registered
I do it a bit differently but I have neither a boss nor employees. If the person is someone I often consult or need to talk to, (my husband, the veterinarian, my stepdad) I have an agenda context for them and everything related to them goes there. A item might be "Waiting for lab results on Mairwen" but it will be in context @vet.

If the item is something I am waiting for that will then kick off actions for me or it's from a person I don't have lots of stuff for then it will be just in the context @waiting for. For example: "Waiting for T to call re equipment move on date 4/3" in @waiting for

So in your case since you have an agenda for your boss I'd put all the items there. Similarly if there are a lot of people you interact with regularly I'd have an agenda context for all of them and put all their stuff there.
 

ggray50

Registered
I use excel and so most of my lists are on a single worksheet which I can filter as required. I like being able to get a global overview with everything in one place and can quickly pull out what I need for meetings.
 

mcogilvie

Registered
If I ask my boss to do something, do I put the item on a waiting for list or under his node in my @Agenda list? Keeping a log of items under her @Agenda node seems like it would be easiest, but I want to see what other blackbelts are doing?

I tend to think of Agenda as initiating something and Waiting For as finishing something. However, I can wait for all kinds of things: deliveries, email, phone calls, etc cetera. If I review a waiting for and I need something to happen, then that might trigger email, a phone call or an agenda item at a meeting.
 

ERJ1

Jedi Master
Hi, all. I'm here to necro this thread!

ThreadNecromancer.png


I do it a bit differently but I have neither a boss nor employees. If the person is someone I often consult or need to talk to, (my husband, the veterinarian, my stepdad) I have an agenda context for them and everything related to them goes there. A item might be "Waiting for lab results on Mairwen" but it will be in context @vet.

If the item is something I am waiting for that will then kick off actions for me or it's from a person I don't have lots of stuff for then it will be just in the context @waiting for. For example: "Waiting for T to call re equipment move on date 4/3" in @waiting for

So in your case since you have an agenda for your boss I'd put all the items there. Similarly if there are a lot of people you interact with regularly I'd have an agenda context for all of them and put all their stuff there.
I'm grappling with this right now and Oogiem's method of this seems kind of close to what I'm thinking...

I'm just struggling with thinking about differentiating certain agenda items with next actions. I know agenda items are really supposed to be stuff to discuss, not next actions.

So help me out here... This is my current agenda list that I've set up with my fiancee:

Plan Spring Break road trip
Watch Episode 1 of Love, Death, and Robots
Use David Allen's Project model to brainstorm reception ideas
Add engagement ring to insurance
Ask (fiancee) to undercoat BattleTech miniatures
Make wedding invitations
Have (fiancee) tell her dad we plan on eloping
Plan official wedding date

All of these items are actually part of projects... so I guess they would all be considered next actions and thus maybe shouldn't be on an agenda. But then, what would I do? Create a Context list that is something like... At Home with (Fiancee)?

Let me know your thoughts! Sorry if this is a little addled, was trying to crank this out quickly between some meetings!
 

Turquoise

Registered
I am not a black belt but to me Agenda means ‘to be discussed’. So for me not all of those would belong in Agendas. Also planning a trip seems like a project in itself to me and not an action.

I have a context for my husband and it works pretty well. Things like watching a show or doing a task together go in there.

With agendas I like to phrase them as a question or issue (just a personal preference) so I know what outcome I’m trying to get from the discussion. For example:

What date should we get married?
Can Fiancée undercoat the miniatures?

Congrats on your upcoming wedding!
 

ERJ1

Jedi Master
I am not a black belt but to me Agenda means ‘to be discussed’. So for me not all of those would belong in Agendas. Also planning a trip seems like a project in itself to me and not an action.

I have a context for my husband and it works pretty well. Things like watching a show or doing a task together go in there.

With agendas I like to phrase them as a question or issue (just a personal preference) so I know what outcome I’m trying to get from the discussion. For example:

What date should we get married?
Can Fiancée undercoat the miniatures?

Congrats on your upcoming wedding!
Thanks, that helps a lot!
 

Oogiem

Registered
l of these items are actually part of projects... so I guess they would all be considered next actions and thus maybe shouldn't be on an agenda. But then, what would I do? Create a Context list that is something like... At Home with (Fiancee)?
Context, yes, IMO At Home with Fiancee would be my choice
 

ssksogaard

Registered
Some apps will let you combine @WatingFor and 'Agenda'..
Using Todoist and have my 'Agenda' setup as projects, then I add tasks as agenda or as @WaitingFor so when I have that meeting my list is complete. I Know what I want to talk about and I can see if there is any 'WaitingFor'..
 
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