In the fast-paced world of work, efficiency is the goal of every professional. While emerging technologies such as AI are emerging, sometimes the simplest methods can make the most significant difference. This article will explore how to solve common efficiency bottlenecks in work through the inventory method, an ancient and practical tool.
I don’t know if you have such a problem?
There are always one or two days a week, and the work is pouring in like a tide, and the constant insertion of matters makes your efficiency like sailing against the current, making it difficult to improve.
Every time you communicate with customers about their needs, there are always some details that are like fish escaping the net, making you have to communicate and confirm repeatedly, which not only wastes time, but also affects the customer’s professional trust in you.
Whenever a major project ushers in a critical moment, there are always one or two questions that catch you off guard, and the launch process that should be silky smooth is often delayed until late at night, becoming a race against time.
Every time you ask your partner for a request, you have different opinions (even judgments and doubts) about your product planning, making you feel that your own principles and standards are being challenged, and you are directly “fighting” with the other party.
If you have this problem, it is recommended to try the list method – simple and efficient, helping you sort out your work and improve efficiency.
The mistake of ignorance VS the mistake of incompetence
In his book “The List Revolution”, Arthur Gwende mentions two types of mistakes that people make: the mistake of ignorance and the mistake of incompetence.
The first category is the error of ignorance。 It is a mistake that can be forgiven because we do not have the relevant knowledge and cannot effectively solve the problem. As science advances and knowledge systems become more sound, we will continue to reduce these errors. For example, the failure of the launch of an aviation manned rocket, or the loss caused by natural disasters, or the death of cancer, etc.
The second category is the fault of incompetence。 It is because although we have relevant knowledge, we do not make effective use of it, which is an unforgivable mistake. For example, medical staff negligence leads to patient infection, or high-rise buildings collapse due to design or construction problems, or major projects are abandoned due to wrong needs or hasty decision-making.
For example, the book mentions an example: in the ICU ward, each patient needs to receive an average of 178 nursing operations in 24 hours, but each operation is full of risks. Even if the operating error rate of medical staff is 1%, it means that each patient has to endure about 2 misoperations on average every day, and these misoperations are incompetent and unforgivable mistakes.
After 10 years of interaction design, why did I transfer to product manager?
After the real job transfer, I found that many jobs were still beyond my imagination. The work of a product manager is indeed more complicated. Theoretically, the work of a product manager includes all aspects of the product, from market research, user research, data analysis…
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The author also gives a solution. That is, the complete steps of each operation are refined and compiled into an operation list, and medical staff are required to strictly follow the checklist steps in the manual to minimize the error of incompetence.
For example.
In the washroom of the office building, we often see the cleaning aunt’s two key lists.
The first list: the process standardization list。 It defines in detail each cleaning step, execution time and quality requirements, so that the cleaning process is replicable and independent of individual autonomy.
The second list: the execution and check-in list。 In order to ensure the implementation of the standard process, formulate a daily work content list and a corresponding inspection and confirmation list to facilitate tracking and supervision.
The use of checklists is not limited to this, and there are not a few scenarios where product managers improve work efficiency through checklists in their daily work. For example, daily work tasks, online work orders, project progress lists, requirements lists, etc.
Case 1: How to keep the daily complicated product work organized through the list?
As a SaaS product manager, my time is valuable. According to statistics,Approximately 40% of the weekly work time is occupied by various consulting and transactional work.
To avoid being led by chores, I use a “tick list” to manage my daily affairs. The first thing to do at work every day is to put all the to-do items, including solution consultation, product rule sorting, demand scheduling, man-day evaluation, product planning and design, etc., into the list and prioritize.
According to my statistics,With Tick List, I’ve become more than 30% more efficient at transactional work。 The reasons are:
- The first is to reduce the burden of memory。 The brain capacity is limited, and after “moving” the corresponding list to the ticking list, you can focus on the current matter every time;
- The second is to judge priorities。 Before starting an item each time, you can compare the priority with other items in the list and give priority to the higher priority items.
- The third is to have a sense of accomplishment。 After completing a task each time, cross it off immediately and enjoy a small sense of accomplishment each time. Especially at night, when I see that the list is full of ticks, I don’t want to mention how cool it is. Of course, I don’t aim for a 100% completion rate, because 30% of things per day are not planned is the norm for SaaS product managers.
Case 2: How to effectively solve the problem of synchronizing project scheduling and schedule through lists?
As a SaaS product manager, facing rapid demand growth (There are more than 10+ new requests every week, and at the same time, 3-5 people communicate with me every week）。 To centralize these requirements, I guide you through submitting them to the requirements pool for unified assessment and planning.
When you “reject” the other party and ask them to raise the demand to the demand pool, the other party may “challenge” you:”This demand is very reasonable, and it has not been scheduled, so what are you doing?”
When asked, “Why not do this requirement,” I explain that we have a uniform requirements handling process that is ranked according to their value and urgency.
When asked about project progress, I provide a public list of projects with progress updates for each project so everyone can see it.
Through these practices, I have discoveredMaking the requirements pool and project progress open and transparent not only improves the team’s work efficiency, but also enhances communication and collaboration with other departments.
Case 3: How to improve the success rate of medium and large projects through the list?
Just entered the SaaS industry,Every time a medium or large project is launched, due to insufficient communication between R&D, operation and maintenance departments, the launch time order is often disordered or the launch content is omitted, resulting in the launch failure or even rollback。
Later, we did a process optimization. Namely:
- The first is the R&D submission online list: Before each launch, 1 hour in advance, develop and clarify the launch content, specific matters and expected time, and form a corresponding launch list document;
- The second is the second confirmation of operation and maintenance: On the day of launch, check the launch list document to ensure that it is accurate before starting the launch.
Since the implementation of this process for more than two years, it has successfully avoided rollback problems caused by missing online content or incorrect chronological order, significantly improving the success rate of launches.
Written at the end
In the quest for greater efficiency and a better quality of life, we are often drawn to emerging productivity tools and methods (such as AI).
However, in the process,We sometimes overlook some of the most basic and intuitive strategies. For example, the list method is an underestimated ability。 It’s not just a recording tool, it’s a way to think and organize.
As the story of “holding a hammer for nails” suggests, we sometimes become too attached to complex solutions and neglect simple and effective methods.
As the saying goes, “a good memory is not as good as a bad pen”, by using lists, we can not only improve efficiency, but also find joy and fulfillment in our busy lives/lives.
