[Keith Seymore]

Looking for some input from the 'high achievers' on this site...



As is the case with most professionals I'm probably doing the work of what two engineers did in the old days (This is actually a relief, down from my previous job of about 5 people).

As a result I get about 300 emails per day. Buried in there are probably 10 - 20 tasks of some kind, ie: requests for information, part number questions, requests for a minor design change (move a stud, put a bash in a panel), input a project status into a tracking database. These might only take a few minutes up to a half day to perform and are not particularly hard in and of themselves but there are quite a few of them. There may also be one or two major tasks - like a significant design release or creating a sourcing document. These are hard, and require between 8 and 40 hours of uninterrupted time. Some need to be done that day, some by the end of the week, sometimes I am prompted and have to remember to perform the task as long as a year from now. In any event there is no way that everything that comes in gets done that day. Anything that doesn't get done doesn't go away; it moves to the "to do" list for the next day.

My problem is in tracking all of these things to do. I've tried sorting emails into folders and using them to prompt the work but there are just too many and too much chaff and hey don't capture requests that come in from other venues. Handwritten lists on paper seem to accumulate too fast and are clunky to sort and manage. I started an excel spreadsheet with items listed and cross referenced by overall project, corresponding release documentation (part work orders) and chronological order but it still feels like something is missing. I don't like the discomfort of not being sure everything has been accounted for (my peers tell me to simply get used to it).

My goal is to keep stuff moving and not let anything (important) fall through the cracks but not spend all my time managing a stupid list. I'm ok with not everything getting done and there seems to be an understanding from our management that not everything will get done. I guess I at least want to be aware of what's falling off the table (and for it to be a conscious decision).

So - my question is: Is there an app for this? What about a class? What do some of you professional guys do?

Whatever technique I adopt will probably get applied to managing home projects, too.

K