Keep track of what you're waiting for

Don't drop the ball -- even if it's in someone else's court

In theory, collaboration is simple. You do your part, other people do their part, we all move along.

But things don’t always go as planned, and it’s easy to forget things once they are no longer actively in your work flow. For instance, maybe you need to submit a report to a client and you’re waiting on your manager to approve your draft. He promises to get it back to you by Monday. There’s nothing more you can do until you get the edits, so you move on to another project. Then the next Friday, when the report is due, you realize that — yikes! — you never got anything back.

This can happen in our personal lives too. I am personally waiting on some miniature furniture I ordered (from Australia) that seems to have a very uncertain arrival date. There is no obvious cue for me to remember this and follow up with the merchant.

Anticipation is a task

But the good news is that there’s a simple way to build all this in, and that’s to realize that “Anticipate X” can be a task just like any other. Set a reminder for what you need to be on the lookout for, whenever you need to look for it, and it won’t disappear out of your mind entirely.

So, for instance, if you’re waiting on feedback on a proposal from your colleague Lisa, make an entry on your calendar or planner for the appropriate date saying “Anticipate feedback from Lisa.” If this date is more than a week in the future, you might want to add some context, so future you isn’t wondering what on earth this is all about. “Anticipate slides from Kathleen — see April 8th meeting notes.” or “Anticipate John’s decision — see March 18th email exchange.” Your notes will refresh your memory.

For projects where your next steps after receiving the item will take some work, go ahead and block off time in your calendar so you’re ready to do your part. If you’re anticipating receiving edits on a document on Monday, for instance, you can block off Tuesday morning for revising the draft.

This may or may not happen according to plan, but the upside of having your time blocked off is that it can provide a nudge to the other person, or at least a reason to remind the person if you’re concerned. You can say to your colleague “Hey Lisa — I’ve blocked off time on Tuesday to edit with your revisions. Let me know if that’s going to work or if I should choose a different time.” Presumably Lisa doesn’t want to be a bottleneck. Of course, you won’t sit there twiddling your thumbs should Lisa not get her work back by then — we always have option B, right? — but this can help you make a strategic plan.

Awareness of when things have gone awry

And when things don’t arrive on time? Thanks to creating an “Anticipate X” item, you know that something has gone awry, and you know to reach out. “We’d talked about that contract going out today. I don’t see it in my inbox yet. Could you let me know when that will happen?”

Of course this all assumes you know when to anticipate an item. If you don’t, just ask your colleague. “When do you plan to send this document, so I can schedule time for my part once I receive it?” Hopefully they can let you know. If they can’t, or if you don’t have an opportunity to ask, just make your best guess. Then, when that date rolls around, you can adjust, either by following up or by making a new “anticipating” calendar item for the future. The key is that there’s always a note about what you’re anticipating so that you’re periodically reminded of the project status and don’t lose track of the project while it’s on someone else’s desk.

Now I recognize that all this tracking and following up is kind of annoying, especially for the sorts of reliable, punctual people who read this newsletter. Imagine — the world doesn’t always do exactly what it says it will! I mean, you do, right? What’s wrong with everyone else??

But the good news is that this process doesn’t require too much effort. Literally, you just write or type “anticipating…” and then the thing on your calendar or planner. But it is a total game-changer for ensuring that projects don’t go hopelessly off course. Sometimes there is nothing you can do. Who knows when that shipment from Australia will arrive? But the good news is that there is a future entry in my calendar to check up on it, so I probably won’t totally forget. In some cases, that’s the best we can hope for.