While many of our Together Tools start with a template (or right within your digital calendar), there is also a time and a place for a Scrappy Situational Checklist. To be clear, we love reusable and recurring checklists for standing work items (like conference or board preparation) and personal stuff (like trip packing or groceries), but there is also a time and a place for a quick jot!
Given the amount of snow days, sick days, and other expected unexpected items happening right now, I realize that when things go sideways, the typical instinct is to just throw in the towel and either cry or get-to-work or both (like me here). While your Together Tools provide the framework and guideposts, sometimes a quick and dirty list is just the thing, to slap on top of the regularly scheduled program.
There are a few situations in which the Scrappy Situational Checklist can be useful. And the only requirements are pen/paper or a smartphone – so nothing fancy is required.
- When you are in an unfamiliar situation or new environment. You may find yourself traveling for work, at a conference, attending a family reunion, and your brain starts swirling with items from regular life. Jot them down, and bonus points for dividing into two categories – now (items you can do in the unfamiliar situation) and stuff for when you return to regular life. This happens to me a lot on work trips!
- When your brain feels full in the “off hours.” Dr. Together and I often use post-it notes affixed to a kitchen cabinet with quick To-Dos for the weekend or evenings, or to communicate with the Semi-Together Teens. This will happen when there a lot of little To-Dos, and we may not have ready access to our typical technology or systems. I usually find myself also breaking this into two categories: stuff for now, and stuff for when I “return” to my desk.
- Items for specific time periods or with specific materials. As of late, I’ve had some odd pockets of time at my disposal – all-day club volleyball matches, evening hours when kids are doing homework, or bits of time confetti on airplanes or car rides. Usually, when I Meet with Myself, I can identify them, and I will whip up a Scrappy Situational Checklist. For example, I have a taxi ride coming up to the airport, and I will only have my phone – but I know I have four “phone chores” I have set aside to do with this time.
What about you? Any situations where you need a Scrappy Situational Checklist?
