Carsons Post

Previous posts discuss how to use a personal data gathering layer on top of existing processes in order to recover interesting facts about your workflow with little additional effort. This was done by either adding a personal data layer to your timesheet process, or by including digital checklists in your everyday workflow. 

Marissa Mayer of Google says data is apolitical. This is a very useful idea. I used to walk into a review with only the sentiment of how I felt about how my work was going. I recieved information about my progress, and the discussion was about broadly emotional issues. That can still happen, but if I come into a meeting and say: "I have spent 20 hours in the past month supporting people in a way which is unrelated to my role, and now we are late for this deadline", the cause and effect are more obvious. It is possible the two are not related - but we are starting to ask better questions.

Most importantly, this data collection can happen as a side-effect of existing processes. It can even support those processes and improve them. With timesheets, I improve my accuracy from within an hour to within 15 minutes. Why? It was useful to me to use a more refined data set - for the questions that I had about my time, rather than carrying out a bureaucratic process. The result was that I stripped out the time spent figureing out what is useful to do next, and understood more about how I can be really effective. 

Data is your friend. The sentiment is important, as it includes parts of intuition that can be used to ask questions of the data. They should be used together to improve how we work, and what we get out of it.

For a long time, I hated timesheets. Filling them out was a chunk of time which looked like this:

When? Really? I'm trying to find the emails... not sure. That must be right. It can't have taken that long. Well, I don't remember working late, so it must have only been this long.

Problematic as I was over-worked but not feeding back to the business that I was too busy working on the 80% and not getting to the meaningful 20%. Then I made timesheets my friend.

I realized that timesheets were a process problem for me, rather than anything useful. The probably weren't useful to anyone, because they were not 100% factual. So, it was key to me that I find a solution to them, and made them useful. 

Timesheets are data points, and data like this is very useful. It occurred to me that while the business was using my timesheets to identify my performance from a business aspect, I could use the timesheets in the same vein. However, I could ask different questions:

• What are my actual hours, and is too much expected from me? 
• Do I need additional support? Can a more junior member take parts of my work away to be more cost effective and time efficient?
• How much time do I spend in meetings, and what is the cost of that?
• How effective are my proposals? Where do I need to improve my time costing?
• How can I improve my time management? 

At the time, my timesheet was an Excel file. So I copied the data in how it was laid out and put it in my own file. This was my output sheet. Essentially, I would copy and paste, as values, the data from my file into the layout of the actual Timesheet spreadsheet (I worked with the guy who developed the timesheet in order to ensure this worked properly). 

Then, on another tab in that spreadsheet I had my time entry. So, instead of entering directly into the timesheet, I had an intermediate which I could use to record what I personally wanted to know. I simply made sure that this data was translated to the output sheet in a way which aligned to what the official timesheet wanted to know.

This meant I could break down tasks into smaller chunks but also associate that time with questions I had. I started to understand more about my working habits, because I could work with real data to find out more about what was going on. As I had copied a significant amount of historical timesheet data, I was also able to, from the start, see what had not worked in the past and look at improvement in many key areas.

There were some interesting and very useful side effects to this:

• My timesheets were updated daily, because I was interested in the process.
• I was much more confident in talking about how I was being used in the business. I was able to indentify situations where I was been used inefficiently, and really make a stronger case for support.
• I valued my time much more. It meant something to me; it was quantified. If I had a meeting that wasn't mutual benefitial, I could really understand it's negative impact. I was getting feedback on proposals I had prepared.

Previously, I wrote how I've been using checklists in order to make life easier. In that post, I described how I've started creating checklists out of Google Spreadsheet forms in order to improve some of life's little processes, leaving more of my thinking available for more fun things than remembering if I've finished things correctly or in the right sequence.

There is a terrific sideline benefit to using Forms with Google Spreadsheets. These checklists become instant data points. By arranging your checklists in a certain way, you can start to recover the data from them, and this can be useful in many circumstances.

I'm not saying that the checklist assisting me to ensure I have my daughter's swimming things will provide any useful information in the long run. These kinds of checklists are quite binary - so all that is important is that they have been complete. I use the Form Builder app on my Android phone for these kinds of the more disposible checklists - you could equally use paper. I don't, simply because I'm more likely to keep my phone with me that a stack of checklists.

However, there are some instances where checklists can become useful data points. I have a checklist for my work outputs. In this, I include vital information like who I worked with, the amount of time it took and who reviewed or edited the report. I include this information for two reasons:

• The more varied the checklist form inputs, the more engaged you are in entering the information. This improves accuracy (think of the "yes, yes, yes" attitiude you can have when tired, etc), and usefulness.
• I feel this kind of performance information can be useful feedback. How long does it take to write a report. In the past, I have been pretty optimistic about how long this takes, and this has lead to working late and some timing issues. By harvesting this actual data, you are better able to predict time and improve planning. 

This data is also interesting as it provides the framework for performance improvement. I would like to cut down the amount of time that a report takes to write. Now that it is actually measured and can be plotted over time, we can see if these improvements are happening. That this data is already being entered into a spreadsheet means that charts can be made to reflect this information immediately. In fact, these charts can be presented as Gadgets on my iGoogle page - making for a helpful performance dashboard.

This information is also useful in discussions over personal development and workplace reviews. In order to make the most of these kinds of arrangements, I find it useful to bring this kind of information into these reviews with me. It certainly grounds the discussions in fact. If there are misunderstandings over performance, it means that you as an employee have useful information to add to the conversation, which might make your perspective on the matter more compelling. 

Recently, I read The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande (see above for a link the the Amazon.co.uk listing). It makes for interesting reading, but the essence is this: checklists are great and can be used anywhere there is a process for better, more efficient results. There is a side lession in ensuring your Checklist works, and generally the book is useful in presenting anecdotal evidence for the success of well prepared checklists. 

I have my own anecdote: a whole decade ago I was following folly into the misguided idea to become a pilot. On reflection, a silly enterprise on the whole, and a gigantic waste of money. However, in the process I learned to use a checklist to go through pre- and in- and post-flight checks on the plane. Efficient, thorough and ensured I wasn't encumbered with trying to remember what to do next, and could get on with flying the plane, and enjoying that fun - and it was a lot of fun.

A couple years later in New Zealand, it appeared I had too much money again and decided to take up flying during my stay there and went about a license conversion. At this particular flying school, the school or instructor appeared adamant that I do not use my checklist. I argued with the gentleman. He argued back. So I never returned. I have better things to do when paying hundreds of dollars an hour than worrying about the completeness and correct sequencing of keeping a plane in flight.

So, I'm sold on checklists, and The Checklist Manifesto was useful in reminding me that they can be applied virtually anywhere where process is needed and routine is encouraged.

I started making my checklists on my iPad using the Tap Forms HD app (iTunes). This certainly provides a nice interface for the forms, and some good features. I like using it a lot but it requires the iPad to be with you. Also, I find creating long checklists to be quite time consuming.

Google Docs includes a form function, and this links the forms to a spreadsheet. A real winner. The forms can appear in an email or be behind a link. I also discovered the forms are usable on my Android phone, as well as the iPad and normal PC. This means the forms are kind of ubiquitous. Also, because the form is based on Google Spreadsheets, it can be developed on a full sized computer, making it that much easier. 

So, for more detailed checklists, I now use forms out of Google Spreadsheets. However, I also have Form Builder on my Android phone, which is a tiny little app which allows for basic forms to be developed. I use these for really simple checklists, like "do I have everything for swimming" for my daughters Saturday swim class. It doesn't rely on a connection - and the forms load really quickly. 

Between the two, I am starting to roll out checklists wherever I can. This makes my life so much easier, as I no longer have to wonder if I've forgotten anything. The activity of confirming from a checklist that I've got my swimming trunks may have raised my wife's eyebrows, but it has caused the relief that for several weeks now I seem to consistently remembered to pack a towel.