(last edited on April 29, 2014 at 1:26 am)
SUMMARY: While the Concrete Goals Tracker, Emergent Task Planner, and Emergent Task Timer PDFs are being updated, the more obscure forms may not get an update unless I hear that someone needs them. The current roster of forms is listed in this blog post.[pceo]:https://davidseah.com/pceo
It’s that time of year again when I do the 2010 updates for the various [Printable CEO™ Printable PDFs][pceo].
If anyone feels strongly about a form, please post a comment to let me know how you’re using it. Otherwise I might drop it from the active roster, or delay updating them. Suggestions for form improvement are also welcome.
So what is in an update? Most of the time it’s merely cosmetic, for example changing the year from “2009” to “2010”. I invariably make a few small tweaks to the fonts and spacing. A major reason for dating these forms is so I do receive feedback from people who are using them; this is always interesting, and helpful in finding opportunities to create new forms.
Here’s the current catalog of forms. The update status is listed with each entry.
The Concrete Goals Tracker
This is a high-level “what’s really worth doing” filter, which uses points to assess the effectiveness of your week. The standard version is customized toward maximizing the growth of a freelance operation, but there are also editable versions for making your own targeted action lists.
- 8.5 x 11 Standard Freelancing
- 8.5 x 11 Standard Editable Field (requires Acrobat Reader)
- Minibook / “PocketMod” format
- Editable Minibook / “PocketMod” format (requires Acrobat Reader)
- Excel Version (requires Excel 1997 or higher)
- Avery Index Card Version
- 4-Up Index Card Version
- Editable Single Index Card Version, Split into Tracker and List
- Small Business Version (different list of goals)
- Sales Version (different list of goals)
Visit the CGT page for more information. The new forms will be available on January 1, 2010.
The Emergent Task Planner
This is a popular on-the-fly daily planner form, designed to give your day just enough structure and focus to get a few things done. This year’s form is based on the pre-printed version, and will come both in US Letter and A4 size. The Day Grid is now back on the left side, where I think it belongs, so all forms have been updated.
- 8.5×11 single color forms, in blue, black/white, and green
- A4 sized forms, in blue, black/white, and green
- Instruction sheet
You can visit the ETP page for more information. The new forms will be available on January 1, 2010.
Networking to Sales Catcher Form
This was an experimental form I made to help guide the sales process from networking to closing. I hardly hear of anyone using it, so I probably won’t update it unless someone says something.
You can visit the NCM page for more information. Update status: Uncertain. If you use it, leave me a comment and I will update it.
The Day Grid Balancer Form
Earlier this year I was thinking about how to ensure a “balanced day”, and the Day Grid Balancer (aka “Satisfying Things I Wanna Do This Week Dammit”) was born. It sort of petered out in the waning months of 2009, but I’m willing to update it if there’s interest.
You can visit the DGB page for more information. Update status: Uncertain. If you use it, leave me a comment and I will update it.
The Emergent Task Timer
Back when I wondering where all my time was going, I made the Emergent Task Timer. It’s also known as the “bubble timer”. Basically, you set a timer to go off every 15 minutes and write down what you were doing. You can fill in the tasks at the top of the sheet with things you PLAN to do, and write down the stuff you weren’t supposed to be doing at the bottom of the sheet. It is a good diagnostic tool for grad students, and a good “this is where my day went, boss” tool. Some use it to track billable hours. Like all the stuff I make, it’s designed for minimum fuss in data entry, and maximum ease of accounting at the end of the day.
- Emergent Task Timer Standard 8.5×11, portrait orientation, 15-minute bubbles
- Standard 11×8.5 wide version with 5/minute increment markers
- Standard 11×8.5 wide version with 15 minutes increments
- Power User Black and White version, with maximum space for bubbles and tasks
You can visit the ETT page for more information. The new forms will be available on January 1, 2010.
The Plain Five Day Planner
This was a really stripped-down “5-day planner” I made this year in both A4 and US sizes. I haven’t heard of anyone actually using it, beyond me for a couple of weeks.
- A4 Black and White Version
- 11×8.5 Black and White Version
You can visit the P5P page for more information. Update status: Uncertain. If you use it, leave me a comment and I will update it.
The Resource Tracker / Quantizer
When I was burdened with a bunch of projects, I made a couple of forms designed to overlay on a clipboard that would allow me to estimate project durations in chunks of 1-4 hours, and then allocate that time in the future. This is the sort of thing useful for small web agencies, but in practice I found the use of paper to be cumbersome on an ongoing basis. Every once in a while someone asks me about it, but as far as I know there isn’t anyone relying on it.
- The Scheduler … allocates time in the future
- The Quantizer … reduces tasks into constituent blocks of time
You can visit the RTT page for more information. Update status: Uncertain. If you use it, leave me a comment and I will update it.
The Task Order Up!
There was a time where I was beset by numerous tasks that each had its own set of deliverables, and I wanted a way of keeping track of them like “order tickets” at a fast food restaurant. I liked how I could visualize and prioritize individual tasks. I’ve heard of people using this system or a variation of it in a production workspace, so people could see what people had going on. I haven’t heard of anyone using these forms recently, so this update is on the backburner.
- 3-up forms on 8.5×11
- index card version: 1UP for index card printers
- index card version: 3-up Avery template
- index card version: 4-up custom cut version
- 4×6 recipe card version, 1-up
For more information, visit the TOU page. Update status: Probable, but if you use it, leave me a comment and I will update it sooner rather than later.
The Task Progress Tracker
This was my answer to To Do lists that took too long to check off. Technically, this is a form that helps one deconstruct the steps of a project, assign estimated times to them, and figure out the overall timeframe of the project. It encourages you to break down tasks into small time chunks, and also serves as a tracking to-do list to measure time spent against a task. I made this back in 2006 when I needed a way of logging progress on a to-do list that didn’t result in completion. I’ve heard of people using the form as part of their engineering production process. It is also somewhat compatible with Agile methodologies in spirit, though I didn’t know anything about Agile when I made it. Of all the forms, this one is in most of a need of a cosmetic update.
- Standard Version, 8.5×11 portrait
- Power User Version, 11×8.5 landscape
- Destruct-o-Matic Version, 8.5.x11 portrait, using a game-like design metaphor
For more information, visit the TPT page. Update status: Probable, but if you use it, leave me a comment and I will update it sooner rather than later.
17 Comments
I haven’t used it yet, but as a culinarily trained person doing freelance web design, the Task Order Up is of interest to me. I like the idea of using that method to organize my day :D
I definitely use the The Resource Tracker / Quantizer and the The Emergent Task Timer for my weekly/daily planning.
The Resource Tracker works really well for me since my weeks are usually multi day meetings with other tasks sprinkled in. The Resource Tracker has the level of granularity I need.
Also – I’m trying to get into the 5 Day Planner, but haven’t gotten there yet.
Hi David,
I’m using your flash ETT and love it. Now I can show my boss what I’ve been doing all day.
Bert
Please keep the TPT going, I use it to remind me to stick to the point.
I use the Plain Old 5-Day Planner and Task Order Up. I actually use the 5-Day for logging what I did over the day/week as well as planning. It really helps with time tracking. Task Order Up is used to track our projects and sub-projects.
Honestly, for many of the forms, the only immediate update needed is to change/remove the hard-written year. (If you remove those, many forms would flow cleanly year-to-year.) But if you want to update/improve those forms, I’m welcome to see that, too!
I definitely use the Task Order Up on a daily basis.
DGB! DGB! (I use it to track personal goals, since they’re most satisfying. And I love that it says, “dammit”, because that gets me going.)
And TOU for work, please!
As always, thank you for creating and updating all of these wonderful forms. (I also use the CGT and the ETP.)
I love the NCM form please update it!
I also like the TPT form!
I have a laundry list of ideas for the p5p. thank you for pinging enough so that i look at it. :) will look through all other forms and let you know. of course if i fixed my printer so i could print anything again…
So much for saving myself some work :-) I guess they’re all getting updated today!
I love hearing how people are using the forms too, so any stories of wonder or woe are welcome in the comments. Particularly there are sometimes calls to have summary lines, though I can’t remember which forms have that request pending.
Brad: I’ve thought about dropping the year, but I really like seeing it…the extra work/yearly visit is a fair tradeoff.
I use the Emergent Task Planner, and really like it. Just came across the Day Grid Balancer form along with the 5-day Planner, and will probably use one or both of them.
Happy New Year!!!
MG
Your Emergent Task Planner is a true classic! I haven’t visited your site recently and your designs for The Day Grid Balancer Form and The Plain Five Day Planner have great potential for me. The idea of balancing competing parts of our lives in The Day Grid Balancer Form is creative and functional. Thanks for your efforts!
Happy New Year!
The Resource Tracker is my favourite and most used form; I rely on it to remember how many hours I’ve got in a day. It’s really, really cool!
Hi Dave—I have a Levenger notebook filled with ETPs and DGBs; I use an ETP daily, and I keep one DGB per week—this way I’m able to keep a nice broad overview of the week, but also dig deep on a daily basis! Periodically (sometimes weekly, sometimes monthly) I will peruse the collection of pages and take stock of what I have accomplished and what slipped through the cracks. I love these two forms—thank you for creating them (er, and updating them for 2010!)
I would make a comment that you could make these forms yearless, or just with “20__” so that these forms could be used across years without needing to wait for an updated year value.
I just started using a few of them, and I enjoy the concept and purpose of the forms. Have not used them enough to give any improvements yet.
Day Grid Balancer; I’m still working out the functional details of it, but the asymmetric grid is fascinating.