Accountability Logs
When you program for a living, your entire career focus is to create systems that will make life easier for others. So if a client mentions that there is a bug in the system, or asks if it’s possible to add another feature onto the system, it’s very difficult to say no. I’m horrible at that - feature additions especially are hard for me to turn down! When added to the nearly non-stop support requests, it’s difficult to find time to get these systems completed.
The other day (after realizing that I had planned on getting a CMS system out in January, and it’s already April!), I sat down with my husband to develop a plan of attack for all my projects. He suggested an accountability log, where I note the different things I do each day and set concrete goals for releases. He also noted that I tend to flit from project to project as I see things that need to be changed, so he suggested that I plan to tackle one system at a time until it’s completed, jotting down any changes I need to make to the other systems.
So far it’s working pretty well. I’ve completed the new site builder release and am zipping it up today for testing. Tomorrow I’ll do the same for the new catalog release. Next week I’ll complete the CMS system and plan the sales site. In between, I’ll continue on with client projects and support requests - again, these are logged (and plenty of time added for things like support). As I notice other issues, I’m adding them to my OneNotes lists so I can tackle them when I work on that project.
If you have a business in which you have a lot of projects, and you need to attack those projects in a more organized manner, I strongly suggest creating an accountability log. Make sure to add due dates and specific changes you’ll be making, then create a course of action to handle all those changes, one at a time. Then have your spouse or a friend keep you accountable for meeting those deadlines. You might be surprised at how much easier it is to stay on top of things with a log to keep you on track!
Susan
