Brain Exploding? ?? A Practical Guide to give compliments ?

Do you also feel something like your head is exploding?

Exploding because of all the actions you need to keep track of. But also exploding because you forgot to say happy birthday to your team member or again did not compliment anyone this week.

I hear you. Maybe it is because I am getting older (thank God!) or because I just need to do more nowadays, but I also find it hard not to forget things.

We need to make sure we follow up on actions identified during meetings and assigned to us. We need to make sure we regularly give compliments or say thank you to team members (only when it is sincere, of course!). We need to make sure we don't forget about actions assigned to other people, but we need to make progress.

I struggled with this problem. The biggest struggle was: Is it okay to set reminders to say thank you to someone? Isn't that cheating? Should I not just remember to say thank you to people or ask how they are doing?

I have thought about it for a long time, and my conclusion is:?No!

Setting reminders to say: "Thank you" or asking how people are doing is not cheating. However, there is a big but!

It should be?authentic, from the?heart. The fact that you need a trigger to think about it is not a problem. It is worse if you never think about it or just at the end of the year when you are preparing the end-of-year reviews.

How do I?keep track of all these tasks??Let me give you a quick view of my task management approach, which is based on the?approach?described by Carl Pullein.

I have five lists with tasks:

1. This week, all the tasks I would like to do this week.
2. Next week, all the tasks I think I want to do next week.
3. This month, all the tasks I believe I should do this month
4. Next month (I think you get the system), all the tasks I think should be done next month.
5. Long Term, tasks I need to some day but not this or next month.
6. Routines, recurring tasks that must be done daily, week, month, etc.

At the end of the week, I check all the tasks in "This Week," "Next Week," and "This Month." Which tasks are still open and need to be done next week? I check my agenda to see when I have time to do certain tasks. I already assign due dates to the tasks and put them in the list "This Week." I also check which tasks to plan for "Next Week"; they could come from the list "This Month" or just tasks that are delayed for whatever reason. At the end of the month,?I do the same with the lists "This Month," "Next Month," and "Long Term."

At the end of every day, I check the "This Week" list. Is it still correct? Do I need to move tasks or add tasks because something popped up??Maybe I?have extra meetings on my agenda, and I need to move tasks because I have less time to work on those tasks.

When I know task "X" needs to be done on a certain date, I set the due date and assign it to the correct list. This will ensure that the task pops up on the due date. All task management systems have some kind of today view. Routine tasks will also be visible in the today view.

When I start my working day, I open my task system. I don't need to think about what to do that day—the tasks are there.?

I?have used many task management systems.?I started a long time ago with?Remember the Milk, then Microsoft Todo and?Todoist, and currently?Evernote.

To conclude, setting?reminders?to think about?people is not cheating. It is worse when you don't think about people!?If you want to know more about my task approach system or would like support in managing all the work you need as a manager or leader, don't hesitate to get in touch with me.