In this Simple Productivity Task Of The Day [link] I gave a recommendation on how to move forward with a task that’s become bogged down by writing a description of the task.
Let’s try that.
For today’s assignment, pick a task or job that you are working on and use this formula to write a full description:
- Write the name of the task at the top of the page.
- Write when the task should be completed directly below that.
- Write a detailed statement of who this task is ultimately for and why it’s important for them (this could be yourself–write that down), what the output or outcome should be, and what will happen if the task is not completed on time or at the right level of quality.
- Then follow this with a list of the steps, the required inputs, tools, and time required.
When you’ve completed writing the description, resume your task. Use your description as a road map. When you find that your task or activities don’t match this map you have a choice: do you make the task match the description or do you need to revise your written instructions?
When you complete the task, review the description and note where you succeeded, failed, or where the description was inadequate. At this point revise the description. It can act as the documentation for when you or someone else needs to perform this task again.
The Writing Assignment: Write A Description Of A Task, Then Do It by Randy Murray, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.