Tiago Forte's Blog, page 47

Just-In-Time PM #10: Structure, Features, and Purpose

In Part IX, I explained why it is so important to create placeholders for your work-in-process: to allow you to pursue multiple projects across different spans of time without losing your progress.

What we are converging towards is a set of core principles for how Digital Knowledge Work is fundamentally different from previous kinds of work.

Knowledge work by itself isn’t new. Humans have been working with information for centuries in different forms. But the rise of digital information technology has ushered in a revolution in how work can be executed. And with it, a revolution in how work should be executed.

We are moving from a Just-In-Case to a Just-In-Time paradigm.

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Praxis

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Just-In-Time PM X: Structure, Features, and Purpose

In Part IX, I explained why it is so important to create placeholders for your work-in-process: to allow you to pursue multiple projects across different spans of time without losing your progress.

What we are converging towards is a set of core principles for how Digital Knowledge Work is fundamentally different from previous kinds of work.

Knowledge work by itself isn’t new. Humans have been working with information for centuries in different forms. But the rise of digital information technology has ushered in a revolution in how work can be executed. And with it, a revolution in how work should be executed.

We are moving from a Just-In-Case to a Just-In-Time paradigm.

To read this story, become a Praxis member.

Praxis

You can choose to support Praxis with a subscription for $10 each month or $100 annually.

Members get access to:

1–3 exclusive articles per month, written or curated by Tiago Forte of Forte Labs
Members-only comments and responses
Early access to new online courses, ebooks, and events
A monthly Town Hall, hosted by Tiago and conducted via live videoconference, which can include open discussions, hands-on tutorials, guest interviews, or online workshops on productivity-related topics

Click here to learn more about what's included in a Praxis membership.

Already a member? Sign in here.

Just-In-Time PM #9: Placeholders

In Part VIII, we looked at divergence and convergence as the two fundamental modes of all creative work.

Now let’s see what this looks like in our day to day schedules.

The main feature of the modern workday, you may have noticed, is fragmentation.

Because we can now so easily switch between activities – whether by jumping in an Uber or onto a Zoom call – it becomes feasible to rapidly switch between multiple projects in a single day.

Instead of viewing this fragmentation as a threat, we could view it as an opportunity to adopt a more agile, lighter, more mobile way of working.

What we need to make that happen is the ability to “freeze” a project in its current state, preserving its context and details in such a way that we can seamlessly pick it back up again in the future.

What we need is better placeholders.

To read this story, become a Praxis member.

Praxis

You can choose to support Praxis with a subscription for $10 each month or $100 annually.

Members get access to:

1–3 exclusive articles per month, written or curated by Tiago Forte of Forte Labs
Members-only comments and responses
Early access to new online courses, ebooks, and events
A monthly Town Hall, hosted by Tiago and conducted via live videoconference, which can include open discussions, hands-on tutorials, guest interviews, or online workshops on productivity-related topics

Click here to learn more about what's included in a Praxis membership.

Already a member? Sign in here.

Just-In-Time PM IX: Placeholders

In Part VIII, we looked at divergence and convergence as the two fundamental modes of all creative work.

Now let’s see what this looks like in our day to day schedules.

The main feature of the modern workday, you may have noticed, is fragmentation.

Because we can now so easily switch between activities – whether by jumping in an Uber or onto a Zoom call – it becomes feasible to rapidly switch between multiple projects in a single day.

Instead of viewing this fragmentation as a threat, we could view it as an opportunity to adopt a more agile, lighter, more mobile way of working.

What we need to make that happen is the ability to “freeze” a project in its current state, preserving its context and details in such a way that we can seamlessly pick it back up again in the future.

What we need is better placeholders.

To read this story, become a Praxis member.

Praxis

You can choose to support Praxis with a subscription for $10 each month or $100 annually.

Members get access to:

1–3 exclusive articles per month, written or curated by Tiago Forte of Forte Labs
Members-only comments and responses
Early access to new online courses, ebooks, and events
A monthly Town Hall, hosted by Tiago and conducted via live videoconference, which can include open discussions, hands-on tutorials, guest interviews, or online workshops on productivity-related topics

Click here to learn more about what's included in a Praxis membership.

Already a member? Sign in here.

Just-In-Time PM #8: Divergence and Convergence

In Part VII, I argued for the importance of interacting with information, instead of just passively consuming it. Interaction results in better learning at the same time as it creates valuable deliverables.

But incorporating all these new ideas about how work is completed – flow cycles and intermediate packets, downscoping and evolving deliverables, interaction over consumption – can be a little overwhelming. You may be wondering, “how do I know which of these techniques I should be doing at any given time?”

There is a very simple model drawn from Design Thinking that is helpful when thinking about abstract work. It is called divergence and convergence.

To read this story, become a Praxis member.

Praxis

You can choose to support Praxis with a subscription for $10 each month or $100 annually.

Members get access to:

1–3 exclusive articles per month, written or curated by Tiago Forte of Forte Labs
Members-only comments and responses
Early access to new online courses, ebooks, and events
A monthly Town Hall, hosted by Tiago and conducted via live videoconference, which can include open discussions, hands-on tutorials, guest interviews, or online workshops on productivity-related topics

Click here to learn more about what's included in a Praxis membership.

Already a member? Sign in here.

Just-In-Time PM VIII: Divergence and Convergence

In Part VII, I argued for the importance of interacting with information, instead of just passively consuming it. Interaction results in better learning at the same time as it creates valuable deliverables.

But incorporating all these new ideas about how work is completed – flow cycles and intermediate packets, downscoping and evolving deliverables, interaction over consumption – can be a little overwhelming. You may be wondering, “how do I know which of these techniques I should be doing at any given time?”

There is a very simple model drawn from Design Thinking that is helpful when thinking about abstract work. It is called divergence and convergence.

To read this story, become a Praxis member.

Praxis

You can choose to support Praxis with a subscription for $10 each month or $100 annually.

Members get access to:

1–3 exclusive articles per month, written or curated by Tiago Forte of Forte Labs
Members-only comments and responses
Early access to new online courses, ebooks, and events
A monthly Town Hall, hosted by Tiago and conducted via live videoconference, which can include open discussions, hands-on tutorials, guest interviews, or online workshops on productivity-related topics

Click here to learn more about what's included in a Praxis membership.

Already a member? Sign in here.

Just-In-Time PM #7: Interaction Over Consumption

In Part VI, I recommended treating any deliverable (whether it’s a simple email all the way to a full-fledged product) as a series of evolutionary artifacts, each one intended to test an assumption or make forward progress.

But there is a deeper reason for downscoping deliverables and then evolving them through a series of stages.

So often our attitude toward information is one of consumption. We treat information intake as a preliminary stage, where we gather research and knowledge, followed by a planning stage, where we make decisions and lay out the steps, and then an implementation stage, where we actually put that knowledge into practice.

That model doesn’t make sense in the modern world. There is so much uncertainty and things are changing so fast, it makes much more sense to dive in and take action, than try to meticulously plan everything in advance.

To read this story, become a Praxis member.

Praxis

You can choose to support Praxis with a subscription for $10 each month or $100 annually.

Members get access to:

1–3 exclusive articles per month, written or curated by Tiago Forte of Forte Labs
Members-only comments and responses
Early access to new online courses, ebooks, and events
A monthly Town Hall, hosted by Tiago and conducted via live videoconference, which can include open discussions, hands-on tutorials, guest interviews, or online workshops on productivity-related topics

Click here to learn more about what's included in a Praxis membership.

Already a member? Sign in here.

Just-In-Time PM VII: Interaction Over Consumption

In Part VI, I recommended treating any deliverable (whether it’s a simple email all the way to a full-fledged product) as a series of evolutionary artifacts, each one intended to test an assumption or make forward progress.

But there is a deeper reason for downscoping deliverables and then evolving them through a series of stages.

So often our attitude toward information is one of consumption. We treat information intake as a preliminary stage, where we gather research and knowledge, followed by a planning stage, where we make decisions and lay out the steps, and then an implementation stage, where we actually put that knowledge into practice.

That model doesn’t make sense in the modern world. There is so much uncertainty and things are changing so fast, it makes much more sense to dive in and take action, than try to meticulously plan everything in advance.

To read this story, become a Praxis member.

Praxis

You can choose to support Praxis with a subscription for $10 each month or $100 annually.

Members get access to:

1–3 exclusive articles per month, written or curated by Tiago Forte of Forte Labs
Members-only comments and responses
Early access to new online courses, ebooks, and events
A monthly Town Hall, hosted by Tiago and conducted via live videoconference, which can include open discussions, hands-on tutorials, guest interviews, or online workshops on productivity-related topics

Click here to learn more about what's included in a Praxis membership.

Already a member? Sign in here.

Just-In-Time PM #6: Evolving Deliverables

In Part V, I introduced The Iron Triangle of Project Management and the idea that any given deliverable can be reduced or expanded in scope at any time.

How should you use this newfound ability? You should use it to:

Get started
Maintain momentum
Test assumptions

To read this story, become a Praxis member.

Praxis

You can choose to support Praxis with a subscription for $10 each month or $100 annually.

Members get access to:

1–3 exclusive articles per month, written or curated by Tiago Forte of Forte Labs
Members-only comments and responses
Early access to new online courses, ebooks, and events
A monthly Town Hall, hosted by Tiago and conducted via live videoconference, which can include open discussions, hands-on tutorials, guest interviews, or online workshops on productivity-related topics

Click here to learn more about what's included in a Praxis membership.

Already a member? Sign in here.

Just-In-Time PM VI: Evolving Deliverables

In Part V, I introduced The Iron Triangle of Project Management and the idea that any given deliverable can be reduced or expanded in scope at any time.

How should you use this newfound ability? You should use it to:

Get started
Maintain momentum
Test assumptions

To read this story, become a Praxis member.

Praxis

You can choose to support Praxis with a subscription for $10 each month or $100 annually.

Click here to learn more about what's included in a Praxis membership.

Already a member? Sign in here.