Action Programs

We all know how useful To-Do Lists are when we get started in our careers. However, To-Do Lists can quickly become overwhelmed when we take on responsibility for multiple projects – as many of us do when we become managers.

One of the problems is that, for most of us, our To-Do Lists are not planned, focused, action lists. Rather, they are a sort of a catch-all for a lot of things that are unresolved and not yet translated into outcomes. For instance, specific entries, such as "Call Tina in Sales," might exist along with vaguer aspirations, such as "Write marketing plan." Often, the real actionable details of what you have "to do" are missing.

Another problem is that once you have more than, say, 20 entries on your list, it becomes cumbersome and difficult to use. This means that you start missing key activities and commitments.

This is where Action Programs are useful. Action Programs are "industrial strength" versions of To-Do Lists, which incorporate short-, medium- and long-term goals. They help you to plan your time, without forgotten commitments coming in to blow your schedule apart. And, because they encourage you to think about your priorities properly, you can focus on the things that matter, and avoid frittering your time away on low-value activities.

Actions Programs also help you get into the habit of delegating   jobs. All of this lets you save time – and get away on time – while also increasing your effectiveness and productivity. As such, they help you bring intelligent prioritization and control back to your life, at times where you would otherwise feel overwhelmed by work.

How to Use an Action Program

Follow these four steps to create your Action Program:

Step 1: Collection

First, make a long list of all the things in your world that require resolution. Try to collect and write down everything that you feel is incomplete and needs action from you to get completed, whether it's urgent or not, big or small, personal or professional.

To an extent, this collection is taking place automatically. E-mail requests are getting stored in your inbox, memos demanding attention are being delivered to your in-tray, mail is reaching your mailbox, and messages asking for action are accumulating on your voicemail.

But there is also other stuff – stuff that is idling in your head, projects you want to run, things you intend to deal with lying at the bottom of the drawer, ideas written down on stray bits of paper – that need to be gathered and put in place too. Bring all of these actions and projects together and inventory them in one place.

And – this is really important – make sure that your personal goals   are brought onto this list.

Step 2: Pruning

Now, process the list you made in step 1, by looking carefully at each item. Decide whether you should, actually, take action on it. A lot of what comes our way has no real relevance to us, or is really not important in the scale of things. If that is the case, then delete these things from your list.

Step 3: Organizing and Prioritizing

This step comes in three parts.

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First of all, review your inventory of projects and actions. Group together the separate, individual actions that are part of larger projects.

At home, for example, you may want to improve your bathroom and repaint your living room: these can go into a "Home Renovation" project. At work, you may be contributing to the requirements for a new computer system, and may be expected to test and train your team on this system: all of these go into a "Computer System Upgrade" project.

What you'll find is that once you start sorting list items, they will almost seem to "organize themselves" into coherent projects. (You also need to make sure that your personal goals are included as individual projects.)

Second, review these projects and prioritize   them in order of importance (for example, by coding them from A to F) depending on their importance. (Clearly, your personal goals are exceptionally important projects!)

Third, insert your projects into your Action Program (using the approach we describe below). The Action Program is split up into these three parts:

• Next Action List – this shows the small next actions that you will take to move your projects forward.
• Delegated Actions List – this shows projects and actions that you have delegated to other people.
• Project Catalog – this shows all of the projects that you are engaged in, and the small individual tasks that contribute to them.

The great news is that, by this stage, you've already created the largest part of your Action Program: the Project Catalog! This is the list of prioritized projects and activities that you've just completed.

Typically, the Project Catalog is at the back of the Action Program, as you often only have to refer to it during a weekly review process.

Next, create the Delegated Actions List by working through your Project Catalog, and identifying tasks that you've delegated. Record these under the name of the person to whom you've delegated the activity, along with the checkpoints you've agreed.

Typically, the Delegated Actions List sits in front of the Project Catalog in your Action Program document, as you'll need to refer to it quite often.

Finally, create your Next Action List by working through the projects to which you've given the highest priority – the projects that you want and need to move forward on right away – and extract the logical next actions for these projects.

The Next Action List goes on the front page of your Action Program, as you'll refer to it many times a day.

Step 4: "Working" Your Action Program

An Action Program is typically fairly long. But you don't have to run through the entire Program every day!

Usually, you'll only be dealing with the top page or pages, which are your Next Actions list and your Delegated Actions list. Some activities may be day-specific or time-specific. Depending on the way you work, you can either maintain these on the top page of your Action Program, or mark them in your calendar.

In effect, these top pages are just a new form of your old To-Do List. It's just that only specific short actions are outlined here, while the major projects to which the actions belong are stored in your Project Catalog.

What you must do, however, is review and update your Action Program periodically, for example, every week (put time for this in your schedule). Delete or archive items you've completed, move items from the Project Catalog to the front pages as you make progress on your projects, and add any new actions that have come your way.

Example Action Program

Here's a simple example to help you understand how an Action Program fits together.

Rebecca has been experiencing tremendous stress at her job. She's leading a large team through an important project, and it seems like every day finds her further and further behind with what she needs to get done.

She decides to create an Action Program to help her organize and prioritize her many To-Dos.

Step 1 – Collection

After spending an hour brainstorming, Rebecca comes up with this list of current commitments:

• Research our target market to ensure advertising department will hit the right tone with product roll out.
• Finish cost-comparison report.
• Research local MBA programs.
• Speak with employer about getting help with funding for MBA.
• Contact recruitment agencies about advertising rates for Office Manager role.
• Write help wanted advert for Office Manager role.
• Order new desk and telephone for new Office Manager.
• Meet with Anthony to ensure he's gotten acclimated to the team; find out if he's on schedule with his project commitments.
• Contact major supplier to renegotiate contract, accounting for our larger orders in the upcoming year.
• Organize project folders.

Step 2 – Pruning

Now that Rebecca has made a list of everything she needs to complete, she takes a closer look at her list to see if any items could be pruned.

After considering each task, she realizes she doesn't really need to meet with her new team member, Anthony. She spoke to him yesterday at lunch and he assured her that he was acclimating well to his new role, and was on track to get all his personal projects completed by deadline.

She also decides that she doesn't need to organize her project folders.

Step 3 – Organizing and Prioritizing

Rebecca is now ready to inventory her items. She realizes she can group her to-dos into three major categories. As she groups her tasks, she assigns each one a priority from A-D, with A being top priority.

She then creates her Action Program by splitting it into three parts:

1. Next Action List.
2. Delegated Actions.
3. Project Catalog.

She decides to put it into a word processor document (see figure 1, below), numbering each project as 10, 20, and 30.