The Power of the Paper Schedule

In a world of pings, dings, and rings...an analog approach might be the key to optimizing your team's productivity.

As a producer on the series The 77: A City of Neighborhoods - I wondered how our team could execute all parts of production for 5 half hour episodes simultaneously.

It felt overwhelming. How could I visualize the entire project and keep our busy team ahead of the curve??

So I thought...let’s simplify it, and put it on paper.?

It was a novel thought when we already had all the digital apps for time and project management. So I'm sure my team thought I was insane when I laid on the ground with paper calendars and 5 different colored highlighters; talking to myself out loud while blasting music in my headphones.

Maybe it was a little crazy, but on a project this big, and a timeline so tight, I needed to develop a clear way for everyone to see the entire process from start to finish.??

So, I wrote out every step of pre-production, production, and post production, including every deadline and possible roadblock for every episode.

Then I organized it, showing where everyone and everything was in the process at any given moment.?

With this system, I could:

• Answer questions more efficiently and effectively?
• Communicate how any changes affected the project’s flow, budget, and timeline
• See the project from a high level, allowing me to anticipate needs, foresee any obstacles, and prioritize our team’s tasks

But then… I took it one step further.?

I made paper calendars for each member of our post team and slapped it on their desks.

That way, when all the dings, bells, and notifications rang from Asana, Slack, and Google calendar, they could silence it, look at their paper calendar, and know exactly what they needed to do.?

This analog approach allowed them to tune everything out and unleash their creativity.?

So while the next advancement in tech is always fun to explore, sometimes we need to return to the basics.

You may look crazy, but you’ll help your entire team’s sanity.