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How To Track Delegated Tasks

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As a leader or project facilitator, you probably have numerous items that you need to delegate to others. While most items are easy to assign, it’s often difficult to track delegated tasks and the progress of projects with multiple due dates and project participants.

track-delegated-tasks

Michael Hyatt has a great post on his blog about tracking numerous delegated tasks. He lists four solutions that he has used including a Moleskine journal, e-mail folders, e-mail tasks and a dedicated task manager. While I have tried all four of these, I usually find myself resorting to a paper based solution.

Michael listed some things he looks for when delegating a task or project. They include

  1. Assign the task to one person
  2. Articulate a specific outcome
  3. Include your delivery timetable
  4. Be available for consultation
  5. Track the delegated task on a to-do list

With his list in mind, I created a paper based project delegator in MS-Word. It’s a simple to use template that allows you to track start and end dates, who you delegated the project to, and list specified outcomes. It also allows you to track questions that need to be answered and also list specific facts or specifications that need to be included in the project.

Here is how it works…

track-delegated-tasks

On the project sheet you write down the project title, the start and end dates, who the project was assigned to, and the description of the tasks. If the tasks are to-do items put a number in the status column. If items need more research, a question mark will alert you that you need to follow up for answers. If a specific fact or specification needs to be followed, use an asterisk to make sure the task is completed to specification.

Each sheet can hold 6 projects and works well with our daily top six sheet. Just keep the project sheet on your desk under your daily sheet and refer to it as necessary. It’s simple and also has a place to check off projects as they are completed.

I’ve included both common versions of MS Word as well as a PDF file for your convenience. You can download the free delegated tasks template below. Enjoy!

Track Delegated Tasks Template:

Note Taking System

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I am a kinesthetic learner by nature and I find that if I take notes during a meeting, the hands-on activity of note taking helps me retain more of what I have learned. To make note taking even more effective, I’ve done some research into note taking systems and developed a note taking template that helps me organize my resulting chicken scratches into something useful.

note-taking-template

Here is how it works…

On the right side of the document, there is a generous white space for taking free-form notes. As I follow along in the meeting or lecture, I make notes about major points as they are presented. I usually start at the top and work my way down the document. The white space gives me room to add diagrams, simple pictures, and even flowcharts.

Once the meeting is over, I now have a collection of notes, pictures, and notations. This is where my note taking used to end. While this mass of scribbles was sometimes useful, it was easy to forget how things tied together and the document usually wound up being an exercise in futility.

But one day I went Hmn… What can I do with these notes to make them more useful?

The Hmn was the key… as I discovered Hyatt Markup Notation, a set of special characters designed to make action points out of esoteric notes. This markup language was created by Leadership expert, Michael Hyatt, the former CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers and popularized by this article on note taking at Lifehacker.

To add this notation to the template, I added a markup column to the left side of the document followed by an action column. Adding a special notation character followed by a specific action lets me take these notes back to my office and act on them in an organized fashion. Here is an example…

note-taking-info

The Hyatt Markup Notation consists of

  • [ ] A square checkbox denotes a to-do item
  • ( ) A circle indicates a task to be assigned to someone else
  • * An asterisk is an important fact
  • ? A question mark goes next to items to research or ask about

To make this work in this document, I use numbers for To-Do items and a regular circle for delegated items. In the picture above you can see an example of my notes from a software proposal session.

  1. I marked important software facts about the proposal with Asterisks
  2. I put a question mark next to questions about the platforms that I had
  3. I put a circle next to a question that I delegated to Betty to call about
  4. I numbered the To-Do items in the order they should be done

This template gave me a central one document focus on the project for reference and follow-up.

note-taking-system-sum

At the bottom of the document is a summary area, where I can summarize my action steps and come to a conclusion. After considering the facts, asking necessary questions, delegating research to others, and performing 4 To-Do steps, I was able to come to a firm conclusion on which software vendor to use. Writing this in the summary box gives me a complete project roundup which can be filed away or three hole punched and kept in a notebook for further reference.

Download Template

Note Taking Template (Cornell template)

Note System Blank Zip File

Meeting Notes Template

Note System Lined Zip File

In the zip file, I’ve enclosed a free printable Cornell notes template with a blank note taking area and also one with lines. I’ve included templates for Word 2003, Word 2007, and also PDF versions. I’ve also included the markup notation at the bottom of the note taking template for reference. This handy meeting notes template should enable effective meeting note taking. Your comments and suggestions are welcomed.