irkman

Huffduffing since January 16th, 2010

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Huffduffed (313)

  2. How Not To Multi-Task - Part 1 (Hall Of Fame Guidance) | Manager Tools

    Our guidance on what to do instead of multi-tasking.

    We've said often on air that multi-tasking is a lie. We don't mince our words, and we totally mean it. Multi-tasking is impossible for humans. It's not even possible for computers. In the early days they just switched between tasks so quickly that it seemed as if they were multi-tasking. Nowadays they have multiple chips, so it can be argued they are multi-tasking, but you still only have one brain, so the argument doesn't help you.

    Yes, you can rub your belly and pat your head at the same time. How much concentration does that take though? If we do it, we can't do anything else, because doing those two things simultaneously takes up our WHOLE brain.

    We sometimes show this video at our conferences: Test Your Awareness: Do The Test. In it, you're asked to look out for the number of passes the basketball players make. Something else happens in the video, which if you haven't seen it before, you won't see. Why? BECAUSE YOU CAN'T MULTITASK! If you are counting basketball passes (a relatively simple task) you cannot see the other things that happen.

    And, it doesn't matter if you're male or female, old or young, computer savvy or technically barely literate. No-one can multi-task. It's just not in our physiology. (Humans differ by .1% from each other, so we're all a lot more the same that we are different).

    Those of you who are thinking, but this isn't me… I can multi-task, you're wrong, but apparently not being convinced. Please try and experiment with us. Try these techniques for just a week and see if your output improves. If it doesn't, you can go back to multi-tasking with our blessing.

    https://www.manager-tools.com/2011/11/how-not-multi-task-part-1

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    Tagged with multi-tasking argument doesn whole brain basketball players can 't multitask

    —Huffduffed by irkman

  3. The 2nd Rule of Effective Project Team Members | Manager Tools

    This cast explains the SECOND most important behavior or habit to ensure your success as a project team member.

    It's one thing to manage a project.

    But far more of us are ON projects, not managing them.

    How can we do this while still getting "all of our real work done"?

    We have a series of recommendations - this is the second one. ;-)

    Note: We made reference to the cast we did on resumes.

    You'll find it here: Your Resume Stinks!

    https://www.manager-tools.com/2009/01/2nd-rule-effective-project-team-members

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    Tagged with project team member resume stinks

    —Huffduffed by irkman

  4. Project Management Ch 1 - Breaking Down Projects | Manager Tools

    Our guidance on the first stage of managing your own projects: breaking them down into something manageable.

    For those of us who aren't project managers - who haven't had training in PMP or PMI or one of the other methodologies - big projects can be daunting. In this cast we're going to show you how to break down your projects into manageable pieces, using a method similar to that listed in David Allen's Getting Things Done. The book is excellent, and covers much more than projects, so if you don't want to listen to us, go straight to the book.

    For those continuing to listen, we're going to take the example of creating a new onboarding process (the process whereby a new employee becomes a member of the team). You've just been given this project by your manager - and the new employee starts in 4 weeks.

     

    https://www.manager-tools.com/2015/03/project-management-ch-1-breaking-down-projects

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    Tagged with projects project managers david allen onboarding process 4 weeks

    —Huffduffed by irkman

  5. Internal Team Pre-Wires | Manager Tools

    This guidance describes why and how effective managers insist on their directs pre-wiring information they brief to you.

    We were with an executive recently and were told a story about a fellow executive that reminded us that sometimes, the things that go without saying still need to be said. This is one of those topics where, when we heard the story of this principle being abused, we looked at each other and said, you're kidding, right? EVERYBODY knows THAT. Apparently not.

    https://www.manager-tools.com/2011/03/internal-team-pre-wires

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    Tagged with pre-wiring information fellow executive

    —Huffduffed by irkman

  6. Horstman’s Law of Project Management - Part 1 (Hall Of Fame Guidance) | Manager Tools

    In this cast we describe Horstman's Law of Project Management: Who Does What By When.

    We've talked and joked about it many times, and this cast will put to rest the details of Horstman's Law of Project Management (HLPM). Mark came up with it several years ago, to help a group of young managers get over their fear of working on fairly complex software development projects. It was actually born over a dinner at Mexican restaurant in Dallas!

    The concept is simple: all projects are simply tasks, done by people, within certain time frames. Despite all protestations to the contrary, no matter how complex the project, they all boil down to who is responsible for doing something, what they're responsible for, and when they have to have it done by. Complex tools can be helpful, but only on really large projects (and almost nobody looks at them anyway ;-) ).

    Keep it simple with HLPM. Here's how.

    https://www.manager-tools.com/2009/01/horstman%E2%80%99s-law-project-management-part-1-hall-fame-guidance

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    Tagged with project management software development projects mexican restaurant time frames complex tools

    —Huffduffed by irkman

  10. Feedback on Status Reporting - Nothing is “Fine” | Manager Tools

    The common response to questions about status is, "Fine." This isn't acceptable or effective.

    As a manager, 'how things are going' is never far from your mind. In addition to project tracking reports, weekly meetings, intranet sites with Gantt charts and resource tabs, you want to be able to ask your directs how things are going. But when they say "fine," that's not really an answer. Here's how to change that.

    https://www.manager-tools.com/2016/08/feedback-status-reporting-nothing-fine

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    Tagged with intranet sites gantt charts resource tabs

    —Huffduffed by irkman

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