digest
Short Summary
Main recommendation: Use two Getting Things Done (GTD) lists, the Agendas list and the Waiting For list, to follow up and raise topics with colleagues appropriately instead of interrupting them constantly, especially when working remotely. The Agendas list collects topics to raise with a person in one batch, while the Waiting For list tracks what others have promised to deliver to you. Together they let you keep your manners while still moving work forward.
Key Points
- The Agendas list is an ad hoc collection of topics per person, such as a folder named after a colleague, so you can raise several items in one brief conversation when they are available.
- Agendas also work for standing meetings: you gather items as they come up instead of trying to remember them five minutes before the meeting.
- The Waiting For list records what other people have said they will do for you, or anything you are waiting on, such as a package or a deliverable for a project.
- Remote work tends to increase interruptions and status-check meetings, so a structured follow-up system helps avoid rudeness and over-chasing.
- Following up through lists prevents chasing people every few minutes about something that could reasonably wait a couple of days, since they may be receiving similar requests from others.
Details Worth Noting
Concrete instructions:
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Create an Agendas list as an ad hoc list, with a folder for each person (for example, "Mike").
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Whenever a topic comes up, add it to that person's folder instead of contacting them immediately.
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When the person is available or appears on chat, ask if they have a set amount of time (for example, ten minutes) and cover your collected items, then compare lists together to focus on the most important ones.
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For standing or weekly meetings, collect Agenda items as you go and bring them into the meeting.
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Create a Waiting For list and record each item in a three-part format: who it is, when you began waiting for it, and what is coming back.
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Use the recorded entries as a running set of bookmarks of others' work that could move your own projects forward, and follow up on them at appropriate intervals rather than constantly.
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The speaker contrasts this with an open-plan office, where a quick in-person question works, but in digital settings pinging via chat or opening new web conferences interrupts people.
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The speaker frames these practices as "good corporate hygiene," especially relevant when people working from home interrupt each other more or hold more check-in meetings than they would in person.
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The lists are meant to be used together: Agendas for raising things you want to discuss, and Waiting For for tracking what you are owed.
Bottom Line
Batching questions into Agendas and tracking commitments in Waiting For lets you stay organized and courteous in remote work without constant interruptions.
