Recurring Tasks

If you work in an office job (and potentially other jobs - office jobs are just what I know best), you probably have a number of tasks you perform that are repetitive, whether they’re daily, monthly, or even annually.

For these repetitive tasks, especially for ones with a lower frequency, it can be helpful to create a “cheat sheet” for yourself so you don’t have to try to remember or relearn the little details each time you need to complete it.

Having these kinds of jobs documented also means it becomes easier to take truly disconnected vacations, as someone can follow your instructions to perform tasks in your absence. Obviously, there is a line you want to be cautious of between taking full vacations and being easily replaceable, but I’ve found that using organizational skills usually makes people more likely to want to keep you around, not less! (Plus, just having your steps documented doesn’t negate the fact that someone still needs to take the time to perform them!)

Another bonus is that you end up with some solid documentation of your work and processes. This is probably more important in some industries than others, but your documentation could become useful in showing regulators how processes work or in training new hires that need to perform similar work!

No matter what the task is, I find that creating the instructions as you go about your job ensures that all the pertinent details are included, including quirks that have become second nature or that you won’t remember to document if you try to just sit down and write the instructions from memory.

Have you ever tried to document your work? Has it been helpful afterward to you or to others?

Note about upcoming weeks: I’m having back surgery in just over a week, so the next few posts are going to be related to that, though I will try to make them relatable to other areas of life, too. No promises on sticking to weekly posting during my recovery - I will try, but my health will come first!