How You Doin'?! - The Art of Tracking Work

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We are all too familiar with the dreaded reporting period or the ask for a status report. Depending on what type of information, data or project you are tracking can make it difficult to synthesize the movement and progress of the work and share a quick snapshot of where things are at.

Enter red light, green light, yellow light...everyone understands these three colors and add the traffic light symbolism and you’ve 99% of the population speaking your language at first glance. So how does it work?

Start with a simple chart that captures the basics:

  • The Project Name or Report Tracking etc.
  • Project/Indicator/Deliverable
  • Related Action Step
  • Deadline
  • Status
  • Notes

You can track one project with multiple deadlines or pieces of work and break out by deliverables or you can track multiple projects for a team or department on one chart. This tool is flexible.

Here's an example:

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In all seriousness this can be used to track a funding strategy, reporting deadlines and progress on grant deliverables, product development and production schedules, campaign progress or team work plan status. The options are endless. The key to this tool is the simplicity of the color system to identify where the work is getting stuck and what’s moving. It is also a great high level visual to better understand where a team member or project needs some extra brainpower or help and to best identify team strategy.

Want to take a deeper dive? Check out my latest class Track it! The Art of Getting Stuff Done. Give me 15 minutes and I’ll get you to GSD (Getting Stuff Done) - Level! Check it out!

Till next time...Keep up the Good Hustle y’all!

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