Achieve Laser FOCUS + PRODUCTIVITY With The System Legendary Fastlaners Use...

[501331]

I put this system in place in both my personal life and also for my work work.
It really has lowered my stress. I used to have the constant loop of things I need to get done.
This has helped a lot to lower that noise and I can just look at my trello and see what I need to do today and that's that.
I like it a lot. Thanks OP!

 

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[Iwokeup]

Updated my board and now everything is completely integrated into what I call the "Nerve Center" board.

I've a copy for the VAs and I to communicate exclusively, as I have personal stuff on the main board that is none of their bidness.

Here's what I mean:

black: VA tasks
Yellow: Home/Fitness
Purple: Product development
Royal Blue: Web design/dev
Red: marketing
Orange: Amazon, of course

The system gets better and better, daily....


As for email, one of the forum members here has a SaaS program (which is in Beta( that manages to capture 98% of what is non-essential from my gmail inbox, so I usually only have to deal with the important ones....

 

[SWB]

I tried Trello and didn't like it.

The tasks don't wrap to the page and instead the page warps on into infinity causing a perpetual scrolling need. Any way to change this? I spent 30 minutes trying to find a fix and none was found. I saw other people complain about the same shit.

I deleted my account thereafter.

The challenge I had with Trello is if you are off line you can't use it. So if your stuck on a plane and trying to organise your life via Trello you can't. So I switched to Miester Task and it works just like Trello but better.

 

[GuestUser153]

Lighthouse, I am still waiting for your favourable response on how to use the software. I downloaded the android app and till now, I don't know how to use it. Any Guidance?

Sent from my Infinix-X551 using Tapatalk

 

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[Lex DeVille]

Wtf how did I not see this thread before?!

I started Trello this morning and instantly hated @LightHouse for sharing it.

Especially after copying his GSD board. So pissed. So annoyed. So frustrated.

Because it forces you to think, and even with instructions I had to think.

But that's a good thing.

Everyone's coming up with their own variations. Hating the system at first, and then they like it (most).

After about an hour I'm familiar with the system and finding ways it might work best for me.

That's an important lesson in itself.

Always use what is useful for you.

@MJ DeMarco mentioned not finding it useful several times.

He's testing it. If it works for him he'll use it. If not it's out the door.

That's the difference between finding a system that works and using a system just to have a system.

Something I've struggled with in regards to pen & paper organization for a while now.

Hopefully this works for me, and I hope it pushes all of you toward your goals.

At the very least it's making me push myself to get clear about what specifically my goals are.

Goals need to be in place so tasks can be assigned so check marks can be checked so progress can be made toward your goals.

And it's always a process of improvement and efficiency.

Lots of important lessons. Lots to think about. Maybe less soon, if it works.

Thanks Lighthouse.

 

[DaRK9]

Another good use for Trello is a free PipeDrive.com clone. Create the columns in Trello, drag/drop from each section as the sale moves forward.

Pipedrive example:

 

[Iwokeup]

So, extending the goodness...

I've come up with a way to (hopefully) eliminate Email btwn me and the contractors, and also to help keep track of various projects/issues within ONE SPACE. I've attached a copy of my framework (with detailed instructions) so that anyone else can use and implement for themselves.

Good luck!

 

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[StompingAcorns]

Thanks for a great thread. I'm still happy with my pen and paper system, but I may try Trello again at some point. And many of the ideas you all are posting are relevant to any system. (In fact, there is a lot of overlap with the Agile software development methodology, which I may write about one day.)

Meanwhile...concerning risk management...

Any time you are using a cloud based system, consider the ramifications if you were to lose all of your information suddenly and without warning. I always look for two features in cloud based apps - the ability to choose where my data is stored (cloud or my device) and, if cloud storage is the only option, the ability to download my data into a single file, whether that format is PDF, text, cvs, or other. We tend to think of apps like Trello, which has some longevity and a good following, as permanent and invincible. But the reality is many, many things could go wrong, causing you to lose all of your data or lose access to it.

/beginrant If it's not on your device, you are not in control of it. /endrant (Cloud storage is a necessary evil and I use it, too; but it is also a pet peeve of mine that no one seems to notice the inherent risks.)

So I looked - I couldn't find this on the Android app, but on the desktop/browser version of Trello, you can create a PDF or print it. I recommend you do this at least once a week - the frequency should be dictated by what impact it would have on your business, or you, to lose all of this information suddenly and without warning.

Here's how to do your backup, using the Trello browser version:

View your board
Click Menu
Click ...More
Click Print and Export
Click Print (there is also a JSON option)
Click Change under Destination
Here, you can select Save as PDF, send it to your printer, and other options you may have (my options include sending it to One Note, for example).​

Trello also offers a CVS export option with the paid business version.

One other consideration for cloud storage - if you wouldn't send the information out to ten random strangers, then don't put it on the cloud, email it, or put it on social media. For example, you may want to keep tight control of blueprints, designs, or patents. If you're unsure, ask yourself, if my competitor got this information, what impact would it have on my business.

And, hopefully, you're backing up your laptops on a regular basis as well.

I hope this is helpful.

~SA

 

[Vigilante]

Here is my Trello board. Plain and simple. I like to have everything on one page. I have no comments on any of the cards.

I use the far right column to keep track of what is coming from China. Else I forget until a truck shows up at the warehouse. lol
The green is the factory name. The cards under are what I ordered. The last card is what the cost is and what I've paid. I should probably add another card for due date.

View attachment 11938

This might have sold me on a test

 

[Deer Friend]

I used Trello and other similar apps to keep a productivity system and decided I can make it better with my own app. I'm working on designing and prototyping it right now. This kind of thread makes me both excited and nervous because I see the need for such systems, but also see how people are already using Trello and may not need my app. Either way, really glad to see all the inspired members

 

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[vinylawesome]

I have been using this system for one week and Love it! Thanks @LightHouse

I tried Trello and didn't like it.

The tasks don't wrap to the page and instead the page warps on into infinity causing a perpetual scrolling need. Any way to change this? I spent 30 minutes trying to find a fix and none was found. I saw other people complain about the same shit.

I deleted my account thereafter.

@MJ DeMarco

I had the same issue and found a solution, if you use Chrome.

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/slim-lists-for-trello/pjlejgbmijmafmobaofcgblpdbkaodod

It has worked for me thus far.

 

[LightHouse]

Lighthouse, I am still waiting for your favourable response on how to use the software. I downloaded the android app and till now, I don't know how to use it. Any Guidance?

Sent from my Infinix-X551 using Tapatalk

Take a look at the first post in this thread, it is step by step.

 

[LightHouse]

Wtf how did I not see this thread before?!

I started Trello this morning and instantly hated @LightHouse for sharing it.

Especially after copying his GSD board. So pissed. So annoyed. So frustrated.

Because it forces you to think, and even with instructions I had to think.

But that's a good thing.

Everyone's coming up with their own variations. Hating the system at first, and then they like it (most).

After about an hour I'm familiar with the system and finding ways it might work best for me.

That's an important lesson in itself.

Always use what is useful for you.

@MJ DeMarco mentioned not finding it useful several times.

He's testing it. If it works for him he'll use it. If not it's out the door.

That's the difference between finding a system that works and using a system just to have a system.

Something I've struggled with in regards to pen & paper organization for a while now.

Hopefully this works for me, and I hope it pushes all of you toward your goals.

At the very least it's making me push myself to get clear about what specifically my goals are.

Goals need to be in place so tasks can be assigned so check marks can be checked so progress can be made toward your goals.

And it's always a process of improvement and efficiency.

Lots of important lessons. Lots to think about. Maybe less soon, if it works.

Thanks Lighthouse.

I'm glad I can make you hate then love so quickly

Hopefully it's working for you

 

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[LightHouse]

So, extending the goodness...

I've come up with a way to (hopefully) eliminate Email btwn me and the contractors, and also to help keep track of various projects/issues within ONE SPACE. I've attached a copy of my framework (with detailed instructions) so that anyone else can use and implement for themselves.

Good luck!

I read through this real fast, going to take a longer look later this week (it's in my inbox now).

Thanks for sharing it with the rest of us

 

[LightHouse]

Thanks for a great thread. I'm still happy with my pen and paper system, but I may try Trello again at some point. And many of the ideas you all are posting are relevant to any system. (In fact, there is a lot of overlap with the Agile software development methodology, which I may write about one day.)

Meanwhile...concerning risk management...

Any time you are using a cloud based system, consider the ramifications if you were to lose all of your information suddenly and without warning. I always look for two features in cloud based apps - the ability to choose where my data is stored (cloud or my device) and, if cloud storage is the only option, the ability to download my data into a single file, whether that format is PDF, text, cvs, or other. We tend to think of apps like Trello, which has some longevity and a good following, as permanent and invincible. But the reality is many, many things could go wrong, causing you to lose all of your data or lose access to it.

/beginrant If it's not on your device, you are not in control of it. /endrant (Cloud storage is a necessary evil and I use it, too; but it is also a pet peeve of mine that no one seems to notice the inherent risks.)

So I looked - I couldn't find this on the Android app, but on the desktop/browser version of Trello, you can create a PDF or print it. I recommend you do this at least once a week - the frequency should be dictated by what impact it would have on your business, or you, to lose all of this information suddenly and without warning.

Here's how to do your backup, using the Trello browser version:

View your board
Click Menu
Click ...More
Click Print and Export
Click Print (there is also a JSON option)
Click Change under Destination
Here, you can select Save as PDF, send it to your printer, and other options you may have (my options include sending it to One Note, for example).​

Trello also offers a CVS export option with the paid business version.

One other consideration for cloud storage - if you wouldn't send the information out to ten random strangers, then don't put it on the cloud, email it, or put it on social media. For example, you may want to keep tight control of blueprints, designs, or patents. If you're unsure, ask yourself, if my competitor got this information, what impact would it have on my business.

And, hopefully, you're backing up your laptops on a regular basis as well.

I hope this is helpful.

~SA

Great point, this could be said for everything both digital and physical though. And backups don't work a lot of times. I try not to worry about data loss like this. My files + accounting + my servers are backed up in multiple formats and multiple locations... But if my trello board got wiped, id simply start anew.

 

[LightHouse]

I came. I discovered tales of a pot of gold. I read more. It sounded too good to be true. It must be too good to be true.

Nope, actually it totally rocks. @LightHouse you are awesome. Thanks for sharing

I only promise what I know I can deliver . I hope it's working for you.

 

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[Hong King Kong]

Setting this up right now... Will see how it stacks up vs my current system I ripped from "7-Habits of Highly Effective People" and report back!

 

[Hong King Kong]

Dude... I love this system already, took so much weight off my shoulders even writing down all the tasks I have to do, then color coding them.
Compared to the older system I used, its like comparing water to a ice. Trello is way more fluid than the old excel file I used to use. So easy to drag things around, punch in notes, color code them... its fricken awesome.

When I got to the 3 things I had to do today I immediate crossed one off within 5 minutes, Thanks @LightHouse !

 

[Tony Tony]

@LightHouse thanks for this as I have used Trello before and still do but your setup helps a lot.

I have however found 1 chrome extension and 1 app that make this system even better.

Chrome Extension - Card Color Titles for Trello

This extension allows for you to eliminate a column that you might be using as a legend - ie RED is for X, Orange is for Y etc. Instead of just showing the color on a card, it also adds the name of what that color is for so you never need to remember what color is for what.

Sunrise Calendar

I have started to use this in place of Google Calendar. It is an excellent replacement AND integrates with Trello so any cards with due dates and times will show up on your Sunrise calendar. It also has 2 way sync so if you make a change in your calendar, that change will be reflected in Trello.

 

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[LightHouse]

@LightHouse thanks for this as I have used Trello before and still do but your setup helps a lot.

I have however found 1 chrome extension and 1 app that make this system even better.

Chrome Extension - Card Color Titles for Trello

This extension allows for you to eliminate a column that you might be using as a legend - ie RED is for X, Orange is for Y etc. Instead of just showing the color on a card, it also adds the name of what that color is for so you never need to remember what color is for what.

Sunrise Calendar

I have started to use this in place of Google Calendar. It is an excellent replacement AND integrates with Trello so any cards with due dates and times will show up on your Sunrise calendar. It also has 2 way sync so if you make a change in your calendar, that change will be reflected in Trello.

Thanks, the reason I do not rely on extensions, is compatibility. Any color coding you do on desktop wont be reflected on mobile or tablet apps. But if you are only a desktop user this is a great idea, thanks for sharing it.

 

[LightHouse]

@Iwokeup @StompingAcorns Both of you mentioned daily habits. I mentioned at the time i add anything like that to my google calendar.

Now apparently as of today Google released "Goals" into google calendar for the mobile apps. You can now set a goal or habit, set the re-occurrence and GCal will schedule it for you. If you have a conflict in the future, the calendar will find time and re-schedule it automatically.

You can check out the details here...

https://gmail.googleblog.com/2016/04/find-time-for-your-goals-with-google-calendar.html?m=1

 

[amp0193]

Here's something I did today:

On the very right (off-screen), I made a column called "Credit Cards". I made a card for each credit card, with the current balance with the 30 day pay-in-full date in the title like this [amp0193's AAdvnatage card $3,000 due 5/13].

I was having trouble keeping track of spending for airline miles between my cards and my wife's cards, and this will serve as a quick reference for me when placing orders for packaging, etc.


In a perfect world, I could pay on my card, and then pay it off immediately from my bank account, but there's always a day or two delay on these things, so this column will do the remembering for me.


This could also be used for outstanding checks, expected withdrawls, etc. I just don't have many of those.

 

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[StompingAcorns]

Now apparently as of today Google released "Goals" into google calendar for the mobile apps. You can now set a goal or habit, set the re-occurrence and GCal will schedule it for you. If you have a conflict in the future, the calendar will find time and re-schedule it automatically.

Awesome idea! I just downloaded the app, but the Goal option isn't there yet. I'll give it some time...perhaps it will show up later in an update. Thanks for the info!

 

[maverick]

Thanks @LightHouse

I'd love to hear at what level you create your posts in the inbox? Do you define them at as they come and then break them down into 1-day chunks when moving them to the Today list? I would appreciate it if you could provide an example of how you do this as it will benefit me (and others!) a lot.

I struggle with this myself as I define posts on significantly differing levels (of time needed) so this somewhat skews the feeling of satisfaction of moving something from Today to Completed as I tend to focus on the smaller items. Hope that makes sense.

Repped for value provided and to show my appreciation.

 

[LightHouse]

Awesome idea! I just downloaded the app, but the Goal option isn't there yet. I'll give it some time...perhaps it will show up later in an update. Thanks for the info!

You are right, I have a nexus phone too and still don't have it, lol.

 

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[StompingAcorns]

Thanks @LightHouse

I'd love to hear at what level you create your posts in the inbox? Do you define them at as they come and then break them down into 1-day chunks when moving them to the Today list? I would appreciate it if you could provide an example of how you do this as it will benefit me (and others!) a lot.

I struggle with this myself as I define posts on significantly differing levels (of time needed) so this somewhat skews the feeling of satisfaction of moving something from Today to Completed as I tend to focus on the smaller items. Hope that makes sense.

Repped for value provided and to show my appreciation.

I'm sure @LightHouse will give you his answer. However, I find it interesting that you should ask this question, as I have been thinking about writing some articles around how Agile software development methodology parallels and can enhance your business management processes. (I believe Trello got its start in life as an Agile tool.)

In Agile, there is a Backlog, a Release (sometimes), and a Sprint. Plus there are daily Scrums.

The Backlog

The Backlog is that list that you refer to, and how I think many people may be using their Inbox. The Backlog is basically a dumping ground - the whole shebang - big items, little items, important items, unimportant items. Everything that needs to get done. As you noticed, they can vary quite a bit in how much time they take to complete as well as the type of work to be done (similar to the task switching that Lighthouse refers to).

In Agile, there is a process to go through to actually size the work to be done. I'll skip Releases for now and just talk about Sprints. A Sprint is 2-4 weeks of work with a small team. Your goal is to release a usable feature at the end of the sprint, no matter how small that feature/functionality may be. This helps the team think in terms of value to the business - if we work on this for 3 weeks, what will it do for the business? You should be asking the same question. What do I want to accomplish in my business over the next X weeks? If I do x, y, and z, what is the impact going to be to my business?

I'll use a landscaping business as an example.

Your Backlog might have:

• Come up with a plan to increase sales by 20%
• Go prune Mr. Smith's gardenia bush that got missed
• File the business taxes
• Fix that typo on the website
• Fire Brenda, who was pruning
• Find a replacement for Brenda
• Cold call 5 new potential customers
• Find a VA
• Answer today's emails/customer service
• Check accounts receivables for outstanding balances
• Send second invoices to unpaid customers
• Figure out how to break into commercial landscaping
• Write a new landing page
• Split test the new landing page
• Research billing automation solutions
• Create a 1 hour training on pruning
• etc.

Sprint Planning

When you create the Sprint, you first spend a few hours doing Sprint Planning. During the planning, you choose the most important items from the backlog together, in a collection that makes sense to deliver a usable feature. So you wouldn't necessarily, for example, put firing and hiring in the same sprint with growing sales. You might, for example, choose to build a sprint out of cold calling, increasing sales, and breaking into the commercial business (from our backlog example, above) since those are all related to increasing sales. However, as you do the sprint planning, you will decide whether to add more backlog items to the sprint or take some out of the sprint and return them to the backlog.

One of the ways you figure this out is, during planning, you create tasks for each of the backlog items that you chose as potentials for this sprint. And then you estimate the time/effort it will take to get those tasks done. Now you have a list of potential backlog items for this sprint, a list of tasks, and time/effort for each task. I'll walk you through this.

In the landscape business example:

• You decide a sprint should last 3 weeks.
• You set aside 4 hours for planning at the beginning of the next sprint.
• You look at the backlog and decide you want this sprint to deliver business growth. So you eyeball what's on the backlog and think you may be able to get cold calling, growing sales, and commercial business done in the next 3 weeks.
  • Note that your next sprint may be about, say, improving customer service, which includes replacing some personnel who are not delivering that - but for this sprint, your focus will be increasing sales.
• You make a list of tasks for all 3 of those backlog items.
  • Backlog item #1: cold calling
    • Use internet search to identify 5 potential new customers
    • Copy their contact information into the database/spreadsheet
    • Call each contact and use the prepared sales pitch
    • Create a form letter to use for follow up, that is easily customized with a sentence or two.
    • Send each contact a follow-up letter
  • ...and so on
• For each task, you estimate the effort. You can do this in hours or what's called fibonacci sequences, but I won't get into that. Just estimate it. Guess, if you have to. You may also identify certain team members who must work on certain tasks due to their skills. Maybe you suck at writing, so you put a VA's name or a friend who's going to help you out, on the task for creating a form letter.
  • Cold calling
    • Internet search - 30 minutes
    • Add to database - 15 minutes
    • Call 5 prospects - 90 minutes
    • Create form letter - 60 minutes, assign to Allen
    • Send letter - 60 minutes
    • ...and so on

Next, you look at the team members and decide how much time each can dedicate to the sprint. If it's just you, do it for you. Subtract planned time off. Also take into consideration the amount of time each person must dedicate to ongoing support of the business. For you, this may mean handling customer service or managing employees - whatever you must do to keep the daily business going. Subtract that time. The time left is what you have to spend on your sprint. (In software development, this ongoing support consists of things like handling urgent production support, such as bugs that must be fixed right away.)

Now you can match available time with the tasks you had listed for your sprint items. Are you over or short? If you don't have enough hours, then you must remove a sprint item or break it into pieces and do a smaller piece. Let's say in this example, you don't have time to do all 3 sprint items, so you decide to drop the commercial business item and focus on the 20% growth and cold calling. You put commercial sales back into the backlog.

If, on the other hand, you have more hours to spend, then select another item from the backlog, estimate the tasks and hours, and add it into the sprint.

When Sprint planning is done, you have a list of what used to be backlog items and are now sprint items that will be completed during the sprint, a list of tasks to get each sprint item done, and some estimate of how long each task will take.

Sprint Execution

Now the sprint begins. At the beginning of the sprint, all tasks are in a Planned list.

At the beginning of each day, select a single task to work on and either assign or let your team members chose their tasks. Those task(s) are moved from Planned to In Progress.

You work on that task and only that task until it's done. Once it's done, you can pick up another task. If you have sprint hours left for that day, go ahead and start on the second task. Completed tasks are moved from In Progress to Done (or, for software development, into quality assurance testing).

There are tracking methods for this - which is what tools like Trello were design to assist with - including a burndown chart, which I won't get into right now. Some teams use online tools like Trello, and some use whiteboards to track the movement of tasks from Planned to In Progress to Done and who is working on which task.

Meanwhile, as other items are coming to your attention that have nothing to do with the current sprint, simply keep adding them to the backlog.

Daily Scrums

Each day, first thing, hold a daily Scrum meeting with the team. If it's just you, it can still be useful. Ask yourself 3 things:

1. What did I accomplish yesterday?
2. What got in the way (if anything)?
3. What will I work on today?

The daily scrum helps you stay on track so that you don't get to the end of the sprint and go, holy cow, I got nothing done. In Agile, there is a Scrum Master who takes away the answers from #2 and helps remove roadblocks. If it's just you, this process will help you understand what is interfering with progress on your business, so you can decide whether you need to make some adjustments.

When teams are involved, the daily scrum meeting is held standing up to ensure it doesn't last more than about 15 minutes. You don't do problem solving during this meeting - only identifying and reporting out to the group. It also serves as accountability to ensure progress is being made.

Sprint Review

At the end of each Sprint, you take a little time to review. What value did you deliver to the business, how well did you execute against what you'd planned, what got in the way, how did your estimates stack up against reality, etc. Over time, your estimates get better and better, so that you are able to understand how much you can really get done in one sprint.

So basically, set aside time every day to work on business development, taking into account the minimum time you will need for every day business support. Then plan your sprints around where you want to take your business next with your sprint hours.

Conclusion

So that's a very long answer to your question - but you could essentially add in one new list - the sprint plan. If you'll actually do the sprint planning, explode items into tasks, and separate your backlog into ongoing business support v. business development/improvement, it will help you get away from doing the easy, quick items, and focus on what you really want to accomplish.

The items would move from Inbox (your backlog) to exploded tasks in Planned (your sprint focus for the next x weeks) to Today (your 3 things) to Done. That was a lot of text to read through, and it may sound complicated at first to those who are new to it; but like any system, it's in the doing and trying that you will learn the power of it. If you currently own a business, it may be helpful to separate your ongoing support tasks v. your business development tasks.

Incidentally, I used to coach small business owners. This was among the most frequent problems I saw. If you never take time to work ON your business, you will be stuck forever working IN your business; and it very often leads to massive overtime, massive burnout, and business failure. Also, it is "creating your own job" as MJ describes in his book. It comes from a) not implementing systems and b) unwillingness to take the next step into delegation.​

Do I use it? Yes, I do. You can see some of this in my progress thread in the form of a sort of weekly Scrum. I keep my planning in One Note, broken into phases (which you can see in the first post of my thread). Each week, I am deciding an area of focus (my own 1 week sprint), keeping in mind that my first goal is launch. I refuse to work on anything that is listed in a phase later than Launch, even though many of them would be easier or more fun - all my activity comes from tasks I've listed in the Launch phase. As I add tasks, I carefully consider whether it's really critical for Launch or whether it goes in another phase. (These phases are really like Releases, which I didn't get into.)

There are other nuances I won't get into, such as how to use a burndown chart, how to add in missed tasks you realize are necessary to accomplish the sprint items, and the role of business (i.e., your) signoff. I'm really just throwing this down on paper, so ask questions if I can clarify anything. Also, I'm sure others here have plenty of experience with Agile as well and can chime in.

I'm stuck at work while software is being installed, so I had the time to devote to this. And I'm a fast writer. I hope it's helpful!

 

[Deer Friend]

I'm stuck at work while software is being installed, so I had the time to devote to this. And I'm a fast writer. I hope it's helpful!

Fantastic write up! Thank you

 

[Iwokeup]

This is an

I'm sure @LightHouse will give you his answer. However, I find it interesting that you should ask this question, as I have been thinking about writing some articles around how Agile software development methodology parallels and can enhance your business management processes. (I believe Trello got its start in life as an Agile tool.)

In Agile, there is a Backlog, a Release (sometimes), and a Sprint. Plus there are daily Scrums.

The Backlog

The Backlog is that list that you refer to, and how I think many people may be using their Inbox. The Backlog is basically a dumping ground - the whole shebang - big items, little items, important items, unimportant items. Everything that needs to get done. As you noticed, they can vary quite a bit in how much time they take to complete as well as the type of work to be done (similar to the task switching that Lighthouse refers to).

In Agile, there is a process to go through to actually size the work to be done. I'll skip Releases for now and just talk about Sprints. A Sprint is 2-4 weeks of work with a small team. Your goal is to release a usable feature at the end of the sprint, no matter how small that feature/functionality may be. This helps the team think in terms of value to the business - if we work on this for 3 weeks, what will it do for the business? You should be asking the same question. What do I want to accomplish in my business over the next X weeks? If I do x, y, and z, what is the impact going to be to my business?

I'll use a landscaping business as an example.

Your Backlog might have:

• Come up with a plan to increase sales by 20%
• Go prune Mr. Smith's gardenia bush that got missed
• File the business taxes
• Fix that typo on the website
• Fire Brenda, who was pruning
• Find a replacement for Brenda
• Cold call 5 new potential customers
• Find a VA
• Answer today's emails/customer service
• Check accounts receivables for outstanding balances
• Send second invoices to unpaid customers
• Figure out how to break into commercial landscaping
• Write a new landing page
• Split test the new landing page
• Research billing automation solutions
• Create a 1 hour training on pruning
• etc.

Sprint Planning

When you create the Sprint, you first spend a few hours doing Sprint Planning. During the planning, you choose the most important items from the backlog together, in a collection that makes sense to deliver a usable feature. So you wouldn't necessarily, for example, put firing and hiring in the same sprint with growing sales. You might, for example, choose to build a sprint out of cold calling, increasing sales, and breaking into the commercial business (from our backlog example, above) since those are all related to increasing sales. However, as you do the sprint planning, you will decide whether to add more backlog items to the sprint or take some out of the sprint and return them to the backlog.

One of the ways you figure this out is, during planning, you create tasks for each of the backlog items that you chose as potentials for this sprint. And then you estimate the time/effort it will take to get those tasks done. Now you have a list of potential backlog items for this sprint, a list of tasks, and time/effort for each task. I'll walk you through this.

In the landscape business example:

• You decide a sprint should last 3 weeks.
• You set aside 4 hours for planning at the beginning of the next sprint.
• You look at the backlog and decide you want this sprint to deliver business growth. So you eyeball what's on the backlog and think you may be able to get cold calling, growing sales, and commercial business done in the next 3 weeks.
  • Note that your next sprint may be about, say, improving customer service, which includes replacing some personnel who are not delivering that - but for this sprint, your focus will be increasing sales.
• You make a list of tasks for all 3 of those backlog items.
  • Backlog item #1: cold calling
    • Use internet search to identify 5 potential new customers
    • Copy their contact information into the database/spreadsheet
    • Call each contact and use the prepared sales pitch
    • Create a form letter to use for follow up, that is easily customized with a sentence or two.
    • Send each contact a follow-up letter
  • ...and so on
• For each task, you estimate the effort. You can do this in hours or what's called fibonacci sequences, but I won't get into that. Just estimate it. Guess, if you have to. You may also identify certain team members who must work on certain tasks due to their skills. Maybe you suck at writing, so you put a VA's name or a friend who's going to help you out, on the task for creating a form letter.
  • Cold calling
    • Internet search - 30 minutes
    • Add to database - 15 minutes
    • Call 5 prospects - 90 minutes
    • Create form letter - 60 minutes, assign to Allen
    • Send letter - 60 minutes
    • ...and so on

Next, you look at the team members and decide how much time each can dedicate to the sprint. If it's just you, do it for you. Subtract planned time off. Also take into consideration the amount of time each person must dedicate to ongoing support of the business. For you, this may mean handling customer service or managing employees - whatever you must do to keep the daily business going. Subtract that time. The time left is what you have to spend on your sprint. (In software development, this ongoing support consists of things like handling urgent production support, such as bugs that must be fixed right away.)

Now you can match available time with the tasks you had listed for your sprint items. Are you over or short? If you don't have enough hours, then you must remove a sprint item or break it into pieces and do a smaller piece. Let's say in this example, you don't have time to do all 3 sprint items, so you decide to drop the commercial business item and focus on the 20% growth and cold calling. You put commercial sales back into the backlog.

If, on the other hand, you have more hours to spend, then select another item from the backlog, estimate the tasks and hours, and add it into the sprint.

When Sprint planning is done, you have a list of what used to be backlog items and are now sprint items that will be completed during the sprint, a list of tasks to get each sprint item done, and some estimate of how long each task will take.

Sprint Execution

Now the sprint begins. At the beginning of the sprint, all tasks are in a Planned list.

At the beginning of each day, select a single task to work on and either assign or let your team members chose their tasks. Those task(s) are moved from Planned to In Progress.

You work on that task and only that task until it's done. Once it's done, you can pick up another task. If you have sprint hours left for that day, go ahead and start on the second task. Completed tasks are moved from In Progress to Done (or, for software development, into quality assurance testing).

There are tracking methods for this - which is what tools like Trello were design to assist with - including a burndown chart, which I won't get into right now. Some teams use online tools like Trello, and some use whiteboards to track the movement of tasks from Planned to In Progress to Done and who is working on which task.

Meanwhile, as other items are coming to your attention that have nothing to do with the current sprint, simply keep adding them to the backlog.

Daily Scrums

Each day, first thing, hold a daily Scrum meeting with the team. If it's just you, it can still be useful. Ask yourself 3 things:

1. What did I accomplish yesterday?
2. What got in the way (if anything)?
3. What will I work on today?

The daily scrum helps you stay on track so that you don't get to the end of the sprint and go, holy cow, I got nothing done. In Agile, there is a Scrum Master who takes away the answers from #2 and helps remove roadblocks. If it's just you, this process will help you understand what is interfering with progress on your business, so you can decide whether you need to make some adjustments.

When teams are involved, the daily scrum meeting is held standing up to ensure it doesn't last more than about 15 minutes. You don't do problem solving during this meeting - only identifying and reporting out to the group. It also serves as accountability to ensure progress is being made.

Sprint Review

At the end of each Sprint, you take a little time to review. What value did you deliver to the business, how well did you execute against what you'd planned, what got in the way, how did your estimates stack up against reality, etc. Over time, your estimates get better and better, so that you are able to understand how much you can really get done in one sprint.

So basically, set aside time every day to work on business development, taking into account the minimum time you will need for every day business support. Then plan your sprints around where you want to take your business next with your sprint hours.

Conclusion

So that's a very long answer to your question - but you could essentially add in one new list - the sprint plan. If you'll actually do the sprint planning, explode items into tasks, and separate your backlog into ongoing business support v. business development/improvement, it will help you get away from doing the easy, quick items, and focus on what you really want to accomplish.

The items would move from Inbox (your backlog) to exploded tasks in Planned (your sprint focus for the next x weeks) to Today (your 3 things) to Done. That was a lot of text to read through, and it may sound complicated at first to those who are new to it; but like any system, it's in the doing and trying that you will learn the power of it. If you currently own a business, it may be helpful to separate your ongoing support tasks v. your business development tasks.

Incidentally, I used to coach small business owners. This was among the most frequent problems I saw. If you never take time to work ON your business, you will be stuck forever working IN your business; and it very often leads to massive overtime, massive burnout, and business failure. Also, it is "creating your own job" as MJ describes in his book. It comes from a) not implementing systems and b) unwillingness to take the next step into delegation.​

Do I use it? Yes, I do. You can see some of this in my progress thread in the form of a sort of weekly Scrum. I keep my planning in One Note, broken into phases (which you can see in the first post of my thread). Each week, I am deciding an area of focus (my own 1 week sprint), keeping in mind that my first goal is launch. I refuse to work on anything that is listed in a phase later than Launch, even though many of them would be easier or more fun - all my activity comes from tasks I've listed in the Launch phase. As I add tasks, I carefully consider whether it's really critical for Launch or whether it goes in another phase. (These phases are really like Releases, which I didn't get into.)

There are other nuances I won't get into, such as how to use a burndown chart, how to add in missed tasks you realize are necessary to accomplish the sprint items, and the role of business (i.e., your) signoff. I'm really just throwing this down on paper, so ask questions if I can clarify anything. Also, I'm sure others here have plenty of experience with Agile as well and can chime in.

I'm stuck at work while software is being installed, so I had the time to devote to this. And I'm a fast writer. I hope it's helpful!

AWESOME post. Thank you. I'm going to implement this into my own (and eventual team's) planning. Rep sent

 

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[Spoony]

This is awesome! So glad I found this right as I begin to start my entrepreneurial journey.

 

[458]

Cool stuff, I'm addicted to splenDO for Android. Once I got it I wondered how I ever survived without it.