The owner of our small shop—that's me—remembers when to reorder supplies, follow up invoices and check weekly reports. Staff ask because the information isn't written anywhere. I've begun moving recurring work into a shared checklist with an owner and due date for each task. What belongs on a simple operational calendar versus a procedure document? I want people to act confidently when I'm away, not replace my brain with a hundred-page manual.
Organizing recurring tasks so they stop living in the owner's head
- small-business
- organizing
- recurring
- tasks
35
5 replies
I’d put on the calendar anything that happens on a regular cadence and on the procedure doc anything someone needs to do the task correctly....
I’d put on the calendar anything that happens on a regular cadence and on the procedure doc anything someone needs to do the task correctly. So “reorder labels every Monday” belongs on the calendar, but “how to place the order” belongs in the procedure. The owner name and deadline can live in both places if that helps.
That’s pretty much how I do it in my shop. The calendar tells people when, the procedure tells them how, and the checklist tells them whether it got done. If you stuff all three into one document, nobody uses it.
One thing I’d question is whether every recurring task deserves its own document. Some things are just a reminder, not a procedure. If it ta...
I’d keep the calendar very short on purpose. If it starts looking like a planner from a stationery store, people stop checking it. The procedure can be longer because they only need it when they’re actually doing the task.
Exactly. I’d also avoid putting judgment language in either document. No “obviously” and no hidden steps. If someone new can’t do it, the do...