Ian M Rountree

Copywriter, Project Manager, Digital Marketing

Learning the Task Snowball Method

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Today I didn’t just hit Inbox Zero, I also hit Google reader Zero. it was a monumental achievement – I haven’t hit Reader Zero in months.

How?

I used the Task Snowball method, derived from the Debt Snowball method I just learned on the Get rich Slowly blot (though the post was from 2006).

Basically, Task Snowballing goes as follows:

  1. List all your tasks from least effort to most. It helps to make a physical record, on paper.
  2. Devote a set period of time to the tasks.
  3. Cross ofthe tasks in sequence as quickly as possible.

This may also fall into the Get To Done mode of thinking, or Cult of Done problem solving theory.  Either way, I have no email, no Reader items, no new Waves, and now, a new blog post under my belt, and it’s only 9:41 am. I have two hours later today to tackle some of the others.

The significance? go look for my last blog post. Then wait for my next. I bet the time is shorter from now to the next, than it has been between this and the last. Snowballing in action.

Good Examples of Bad Behaviour.

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A lot of consumers feel they’re treated like dirt by salespeople, and for good reason. Lots of salespeople are only in it for themselves, with their highest priority being their paycheque. But some of us get that way because of how we’re treated by our customers. It’s no exaggeration that retail is one of the hardest industries to find fulfilment in, and after a while, many people-who-sell-things either turn into jaded jerks or cynical jokers, largely because even if they didn’t have that attitude before they went in, those two become the only options when dealing with some markets and groups of people.

If you ever want some good examples of how not to treat the people you rely on to sell you the stuff you want, head on over to (The Customer is) Not Always Right and read a few of the stories there. I’m not kidding when I say I shared this site with everyone in my house immediately on finding it, and I wish I had found it long ago. Technorati is a wonderful thing, some days.

The lesson to take from this? People behind the counter are human too. Sometimes they legitimately make mistakes. Sometimes they simply CAN NOT give you what you want – whether that’s because it’s totally insane of you to ask, or because it would cost them their jobs to comply is not something debatable. It just is what it is. The effort it takes to get worked up over most of this junk is seriously never, and I mean never, worth the payoff you might get from it. Chill out.

By the way, a bit of a caveat? I think the fact that someone not only made a site like Not Always Right, but has been running it for quite some time, is really just sad. This means the saturation of flat out jerks and ill-meaning idiots in the world has been pretty high for long enough that the internet took notice. When the internet notices you, you’re either doing something awesome, or something really really terrible. I’ll let you all decide which one this site represents.