Okay, whiteboards aren’t really magic, unless you know how to use them.
What do I mean by that? Well, just as traditional list-makers understand the value of getting their ideas out of their head’s and onto their to-dos, white board scribblers know how to get an inanimate piece of magnetic plastic to tell them what to do.
I’ve already discussed in part one of this discussion, how I like to doodle my way to a fleshed out idea. I know lots of people do. But I don’t stop there. Once an idea starts to get legs, it’s time to put the initial action steps up on my office white board.
Otherwise, an idea would remain an idea, instead of getting a chance to grow into an experiment.
I keep the usual suspects on my calendar like dealines, where I have to be when, conflicts with other family members’ schedules, so I can see what’s happening when. But in order for any creating to get done (or editing or proofing or whatever), each idea needs to start as a bunch of orders from me to me.
I guess what I’m saying is that for anything to get done around here, I need a boss to tell me what to do, when. And who better to be that boss than me?
In addition to the action steps I need to take, the whiteboard often contains the list of things I’m really not that jazzed about doing. But if I want the speaking gig, I have to plan the travel to get to the event. If I want the published article, I have to work backwards through all of the steps to get it done.
Like most people, I like some aspects of each process better than others. In the past, not enjoying a step in the process might have stopped me from succeeding at all, but these days, I get it all done eventually.
I identify a few of the most pressing items each day and get them done. Not just checking them off, but simply erasing them from the board once they are accomplished.
About once a week, I take a look at my calendar and add more tasks.
Most of the time, my white board is full. One thing I’ve been working on for 2009 is having less administrative tasks and more creative tasks on my whiteboard. And what do you know, it’s working!
So, those are my thoughts on how to use a whiteboard to be more productive and to help you get all the junk you don’t want to do done. Anybody have anything to add?
Photo by emdot
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