The Manager’s #1 Tool
Rosa argues that every manager needs to have a “The Follow-up I Need to Complete” list, with three headings: “(1) What I must Do to Honor my Word, (2) Who I need to Follow-up with, and By When, and (3) Why it is so Important to Them, and thus, to Me.” She finishes by saying, “So take this from me; the 1 best list that every manager must work with says THE FOLLOW-UP I NEED TO COMPLETE at the top, and has those three columns. What they write on it, and how consistently they work through it day by day will determine that manager’s success. Just ask their employees.” More

4 Tips for the Weekly Review
Andre gives four strategies for easing your Weekly Review … (1) schedule it, (2) work from a checklist, (3) do your collection separately, and (4) schedule planning time for complex projects. “The goal of the weekly review is to have nothing on your mind. During the week, you don’t have to think about with to do about most of your projects because you’ve already thought about them. You just need to act. At that point, you simply look at your lists to get the next action that moves that project foward.” And in the comments, Jason adds a 5th. More

Streamline Repetitive Actions
Jason says that one way to improve productivity is to streamline repetitive behaviors. “During your workday, make a tally sheet/inventory of all of the activities you do multiple if not hundreds of times per day. Some examples of the most common tasks are sending e-mails to your team and taking notes after meetings. After you have your quantitative list, make an effort to streamline the items you do most often. By streamlining, I mean remove any unnecessary steps or features that slow the process down. By starting with the activities you do most often, you’ll experience the greatest return on investment (ROI) for your time, focus and effort.” More