Anyone who has ever worked in the world of IT operations knows how hard it is to stay afloat. We are fighting entropy. We have a seemingly never ending todo list and people never stop interrupting. Ever. It's the nature of this business, and we obviously like to hurt... err... like a good challange.
So how do you get things done? Everyone has their own system, and I'd like to share mine.
First, Come Up With an Organization System
I use a text file with vim. Seriously. It is located on a remote server that I can access from anywhere, and it has a very obvious format:
Apply patches to front-end IIS servers:It's a no brainer, really. The first line denotes the goal, and the following lines are the tasks. After each task is complete, I prepend an 'x' and immediately write down the next action. If the goal is realized, then I cut and paste this to the todo.archive file. Simple as that. In the morning I scan the list and pick my target. Every Monday I go through and make sure that everything still fits with reality.
x verify that a policy exists
x schedule change
- apply patch on 2/20/2008 @ 00:01
Eventually, I want to add some vim fanciness so that I can navigate the file easier or at least get some nice syntax highlighting. After that, maybe I'll roll a simple Python cgi that can serve up the text file as an alternate interface. Hell, maybe it'll even have a RESTful API of some sorts so that you can have all sorts of interface. Ahhh... to dream... to dream...
I use the unix utility remind to keep up with calendar items. I find the format clear and it is something I can bend to meet my needs without too much hassle. Google Calendar may be a better choice, though. I haven't decided.
All of this data is backed up on a daily basis to Amazon S3 so I can rest easy.
Second, Keep Your Inbox Empty
Nothing raises anxiety like clutter. When I open my email inbox and see a bajillion read items, my mind races. Rather than do that, make your inbox serve your organization system. Every email is treated in one of three ways:
- immediately answered
- the goal is extracted and added to my todo list, and the email is moved to the 'archive' folder
- the email is deleted
Wrapping Up
So, that's how I do it. I'm no guru, and I'm sure it can be improved.
If you'd like to share your own system and you have a blog, I encourage you to write about it and trackback to this post.
I am also very partial to todo lists. I tend to have two lists, one for immediate things and one for slightly larger projects. I tend to organize them in my head by priority and time/effort required.
All "immediate" things go into a ticket system for my own tracking. Not only can it remind me of what to do, but can serve as a future reference for questions.
Project things go into a list- sometimes a whiteboard, but other times a text file somewhere. There are times I think of some task to do, but can't get to it right away and hate forgetting it. Therefore, I try to jot things down centrally as much as possible. I can always remove items later on if they are trivial, not worth the effort, or just so old that they'll never get done.
It's one of those weird things. In school, it was always nice to approach the end of the semester. Eight things to do, knock them away, and soon enough BAM! Done! Beer, Quake/UT, movies, fun! In the real world, though, especially IT and security, the list is neverending. There's always something to fix, adjust, do, document, or even just learn if we get that lucky. "Today, I will learn Python!" So I've made a point to adjust my own perception to alleviate any pressure to finish up the list. I'd hate to live in a constant state of tension because the list isn't done yet!
I also like an empty email Inbox. I think more and more people/companies are getting over the newness of email, and realizing that it is not a proper means of communicating important things. Phone or in person still works for time-sensitive stuff.
I have an Inbox and a few filter folders for mailing lists and alerts. The mailing list items and alerts get deleted promptly whether I read them or not. The Inbox items either get deleted/attended-to quickly. I only file some things away that I might reference in the next 6 months.
Your method sounds like the classic GTD way of doing things... have you read the book by David Allen?
I'm also using a similar system. Tried some Windows apps, but found using a text file is easiest, though I'm still in search of an application that can make the process a little less manual.
The last windows app I tried was called Tudumo, and was pretty good though a little slow (but that was probably due to my PC). If you're after a Python-based solution, try searching for PyGTD. Haven't used it personally, but it might be what you're looking for.
The best way I have found, was to use a method termed "TRAF" by Stephanie Winston in her book "The Organized Executive". Basically adds to your system (even though created for handling paper, TRAF works well for emails especially your Inbox)
T: Trash - the stuff you don't want right away
R: Read - actually put in a read pile and Reading itself is set as a separate action (such as a meeting with yourself - fixed times)
A: Action - stuff that gets mounted on your To-do list right away
F: File (your archive - stuff that's useful to keep but not relevant necessarily at this moment - that article on Secrets of the Excel Gurus, that you know you will need one of these days but don't want to master just yet)
The key she adds to the TRAF system is "meetings" at fixed time that you set up with yourself, n times a week to catch up on reading and daily meetings to prioritize your to-dos. I have found this works real well.
@Michael: I can't stand the tension, either. I am constantly having to adapt my system to allow for a little bit of breathing room. It seems that things are extremely busy as of late, and I am not making the headway that I used to. There are lots of regular interruptions in my line of work that make staying on task very hard. Rather than feel bad for not getting all of my major tasks completed, I am going to try only focusing on one 'big' task per week. If I can accomplish that, at least I will feel that I have progressed.
@Mun: I read the David Allen book several years ago, and tried to do it all with notecards. That worked awesome, until I started leaving notecards behind ;-) The textfile thing works much better for me, and am glad to have found something that works.
@K: Thanks for the pointers about the TRAF system. This may add a little more method to my system, thus making it more effective. I need to focus more on the regular meetings with myself, if only to review my list and ditch the cruft.
I'm a big fan of the todo text file as well. My issue is that I don't currently store it in an interpipes-accessible location which leads to synchronization issues. Also, I’ve really started to appreciate Google Calendar’s ability to send SMS reminders. I find it’s handy for appointments and things that have a tendency to slip out of my mind when I’m waist-deep in the task at hand...and it’s also handy for stuff you’d like to be reminded of even when you’re not in front of a keyboard (perish the thought).
My email inbox is a variation on what you've described. The only things that reside in my inbox are currently relevant email conversations that don’t qualify as “real” action items (i.e. organizing a social event for that night/weekend, correspondence with old co-workers and pen pals, etc.). Anything that has a longer significance window (i.e. doesn't need to be in my face, but is important for down the road...like flight itineraries, hotel reservations etc.) gets starred (I'm a Gmail guy) and archived. I'm also a bit of a label fanatic, but I'm not so sure I'm getting any real payoff as I can usually find emails just as quickly or quicker by searching as by snooping through label-filtered lists.
Another pattern I’ve noticed is that I generally end up with 2 or 3 notepad windows open throughout the day that contain bits and pieces that are relevant to one of the tasks I'm working on. I've looked around for something more structured that might help with this, but most of what I've seen gets in the way too much for my liking. Actually, this is one of my "And today I learn Python" type tasks where I'll whip up a quick tool to cover this...something with lots of malleable tabs and lists.
At the risk of promoting myself, those who are interested in this topic should read my article on David Allen:
www.bostonconvivium.com/jm_essays/david_allen
As I state in this essay, Stephanie Winston is second generation time management -- no underlying theory, just a collection of tips from the first generation. Third generation is David Allen, currently the most insightful thinker in the world on this subject.
James Mitchell
jmitchell@kensingtonllc.com
Vim does make a good to-do list editor. I use it roughly the same way you do. For syntax highlighting, I butchered a copy of the built-in yaml.vim, named it todolist.vim, and added a few more things to highlight automatically. However, I don't keep a todo.archive; instead I chop the list into sections (delimited by headings starting with the '{' character, so [[ and ]] can be used to jump around) and move completed tasks to the bottom of the file -- separated by month, if necessary, for monthly reports. The uncategorized top of the file makes a good dumping ground for e-mails full of suggestions and ideas.
I'll admit the result is not free of entropy. Abandoned projects and ideas need to be cleaned out occasionally. But it works well for tracking multiple longer-running projects with lots of "nice-to-haves" that will most likely evolve or be scrapped over time.
I use Vim to keep track of almost anything and everything i do on the computer in the office and at home. And the names of my files normally have a naming convention like
_.txt
And even then, things can get really messy over time; so in addition to that i use a folder system to categorized stuff that i do and placing the files into the appropriate folder.
I tend to use VIM to organize my thoughts, but I usually use a list on a whiteboard or a todo list management software to manage my todos.
Most of the time, however, when it comes to work-related things, if it's going to take me too long to do it right away, I'd just rather file a ticket and get on with life. That way it can be tracked and someone else has the ability to do it if I get too much on my plate.
Whether you gather all tasks from email folders, physical in-boxes, notes and verbal commitments and carve them into a stone tablet with a 2 inch chisel. Or choose to manage them in Microsoft Project with GNATT charts showing relationships of all tasks. Or simply list them in an ASCII text file. Is the increase in productivity from the method you choose or from your dedication to following a particular method and reviewing all your commitments regularly?
Even when a method is working well, I find myself doing something novel like using sticky notes on my monitor. Even with a detailed list of tasks and all my ongoing projects and appointments documented I still toy with different methods to increase my focus. It would seem that the desire to always evolve the method will tend to increase your productivity in general.
I was searching for a link to an IBM research paper that talked about a study that documented the productivity of groups using different software development methodologies. I think it included agile, waterfall, and extreme programming. The study concluded that all groups that changed from any one to another saw an increase in productivity in the period for which the test was conducted. Anyone seen this paper? It would be interesting to find information to support the idea of continual process refinement or adoption of a new model consistently increasing productivity.
Ron, I could see the truth in that study. All too often, I adopt a process and stick to it for a few good months. Eventually, I stop following it for who knows what reason, and things start to stagnate. Then, I either rediscover my old method or pick a new one, and things take off again. Results probably has more to do with the commitment to get things done than they do with sticking to a particular dogma.