« AURA | Main | Change and the Brain »
September 26, 2006
The Power of the Dash
I'm always on the lookout for ideas to better manage my time. I've come to the conclusion that it is always a work in progress. Last week, I ran across a terrific post by Patrick Rhone on time management and workflow processing. One of his tricks that I've started using is the power of the dash. (go about half way down the post to see a picture of it). Whenever he takes notes in a meeting or in a one on one discussion, he puts a dash (-)to the left to signify that there is an action that needs to be completed. When he completes the action item, he simply puts a vertical line, making it a plus sign (+). If he has delegated it to someone else or is waiting for someone, he transforms the dash into an arrow. If he needs to carry it forward to another page, he puts a circle around it.
I've been using this for a week now and find that it really helps me stay on top of things. To help me remember, I've put it on a sticky note and move it to the first blank page each day until I've got it in my mind.
Posted by chitch at September 26, 2006 8:05 AM