My Rules for Work

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.

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