I believe in to-do lists, and I come up with new ways to keep these lists every 6 months.  My latest fixation is Evernote, but there are plenty of other great ways out there to keep up with your to-do list.

But this blog is not about methods of keeping up with a to-do list. This blog is about your not-to-do list. This is a list of the tasks or projects you are ignoring, consciously ignoring. The projects and tasks on your not-to-do list may be important, perish the thought, even urgent, but they simply aren’t as important as the items on your active to-do list. 

So what is the most important part of this?  Don’t forget to tell your manager that you are ignoring these tasks or projects.  It never works well when you declare that after the fact.  Seriously, make a list of the items that you are not going to work on or complete today, this week or this month, and share it with your manager.  You can (or your manager can) reassess as needed, but I guarantee this list will make you more productive, and assuming you chose the right items, more effective.

Google micromanaging, and the first page of articles start with words such as consequences, avoiding, how to stop, etc.  Everyone agrees micromanaging is bad.  I have always argued, however, that managing to the details is one key to success.

I am pretty sure some employees have felt I have micromanaged their activities.  I can’t tell you how many candidates have stated during an interview they are leaving their current position because their manager micromanaged them.  So what is the difference between micromanaging and managing to the details? How can you ensure you understand the details but don’t micromanage?

From a personal experience, I finally figured out one significant difference.  Managing to the details is asking  the questions what, when and sometimes who.  What is the task you are charged with completing?  When will you have this task done? Who is responsible for the project, or who is holding it up?

Along with asking the right questions, you also need to make it clear that you are there to help if needed. It’s when you start asking them to how they will complete the task, or even worse, telling them how to complete the task that you have moved into micromanagement. 

You want to avoid asking questions like the following: How will you get that information? How will you complete that task?  Or worse, here is how you should complete that task.  The bottom line is, knowing the status of crucial projects is part of your role as a leader.  Telling people how to do their job isn’t.