Tag: uncertainty

Not everything on your to-do list is a task

Look at your to-do list. Does every entry describe something you can actually do?

‘Email the proposal’ is a task. But ‘New website’, ‘Resolve the staffing issue’ and ‘Improve team morale’ need more thought.

Some entries are

  • decisions
  • questions
  • experiments
  • situations that are still developing

Treating them all as tasks can leave you trying to complete something you have not yet understood.

Continue reading Not everything on your to-do list is a task

Cynefin and GTD: the weekly review as a sense-making practice

The Getting Things Done (GTD) weekly review is often described as essential maintenance for your productivity system. You gather loose papers, process your inboxes, download your head, update your projects and review your calendar. This keeps your system current and trustworthy.

But the weekly review can do something deeper. It can help you notice when your understanding of a situation is no longer accurate.

Seen through Cynefin, the weekly review becomes a regular opportunity to notice what has changed and adapt our response.

Continue reading Cynefin and GTD: the weekly review as a sense-making practice

Cynefin and GTD: when your next action is an experiment

In Getting Things Done, a next action is the next visible, physical activity needed to move something forward.

That might mean:

  • email the completed proposal
  • telephone the garage
  • book the appointment
  • proofread the final chapter

These actions move us towards completion. But in an uncertain situation, we may not yet know which route will produce the outcome we want.

Sometimes the next action needs to help us learn.

Continue reading Cynefin and GTD: when your next action is an experiment

Some project outcomes must be discovered, not defined

Cynefin can help us manage uncertain projects in GTD.

One of the most useful practices in Getting Things Done is defining a successful outcome for each project.

What will be true when this is finished?

For many projects, the answer is reasonably clear:

  • Submit my tax return
  • Replace the broken washing machine
  • Publish the new website
  • Book accommodation for the holiday

A clear outcome helps us decide what ‘done’ means. It also makes choosing the next action much easier.

But the Cynefin framework reminds us that not every situation offers that degree of certainty.

Continue reading Some project outcomes must be discovered, not defined

Agile as a learning system, not a delivery framework

Agile is often described as a way to deliver work faster.

That is not wrong, but it is incomplete.

At its best, Agile is not simply a delivery framework. It is a learning system. It helps teams discover what is true, what is valuable, what is possible and what needs to change.

Continue reading Agile as a learning system, not a delivery framework