Note № 70 2 min read

My Rules for Work

Things that I find make things better when working with colleagues

Over the years, I've found some minor things which make work harder than it needs to be. These are my recommendations for working better!

Documentation

  • Follow the Style Guide
  • Use the structure features of your wordprocessor - Heading levels especially.
  • Don't email files as attachments - use links to SharePoint etc.
  • Use version history properly:
    • Major versions (1.0, 2.0) are published versions
    • Minor versions (x.1, x.2) are development versions
    • Include the version number in document footers
    • Have a document history table showing all major versions (and minor versions since the last major one)
    • Delete minor versions from the version history as appropriate
  • Add concise commit comments to versions when publishing.

Meetings

  • Consider whether a meeting is really necessary
  • Include an agenda with every meeting invitation
  • Schedule an appropriate meeting length
  • Include a single online meeting link (is it Teams/Skype/Webex/Zoom? Only have one!)
  • Avoid lunchtime if possible
  • Start meetings promptly, finish early if you can, don't overrun - reschedule a follow up if necessary.
  • Keep to the agenda - arrange a separate meeting if scope increases.
  • Book a meeting room in advance if it is a physical meeting - leave the room on time.
    • Cancel the booking if the meeting is cancelled
  • Once a meeting has started, don't move or delete the invitation. If there is a repeat meeting the next day/week either add recurrence to the original meeting or add another meeting - don't reschedule the one that has already happened.

Email

  • Set a 20 second delay on sending - you can't always recall a message.
  • Double check recipient email addresses before sending
  • Never use BCC
  • Prefix email subjects with 'External:' if third parties are on the distribution list.
  • Keep the email concise and to the point - one subject per email if possible.
  • Include keywords in the email to aid searching later. Consider whether to include acronyms and their expanded version.
  • Use priority flags - if it's urgent, mark it high priority, if it's low priority, set it to low!

Messages

  • Don’t start an instant message with just 'hello' , also include your request. https://nohello.net
  • Use voice for synchronous communication (Urgent?)
  • Use IM for asynchronous communication (Less urgent)
  • Use Email for less time-critical comms, or where you need a record.