I started my career as a productivity coach in the San Francisco Bay Area in the early tens. It was the peak of the tech boom, and high-powered professionals from some of the world’s most influential companies were looking for any edge in their performance. I was happy to oblige.
I coached several executives at a well-known biotech firm in South San Francisco, on a beautiful campus overlooking the bay. I remember one spring day I was waiting for my next client, a senior director in charge of developing several new lifesaving pharmaceuticals.
Once he arrived, our coaching session started with a simple question of mine: “Do you have a project list?”
When working with a client as a productivity coach, one of the first things I always ask them is to show me their project list. I need it to get a sense of what kind of work they do, their current workload, and what priorities and outcomes they are trying to move forward.
He said, “Sure!” and, after jotting down a quick list from memory (the first red flag), handed me a list like this:
Do you see the problem? Look again closely.
Not a single item on this list is a project, according to my definition. Projects are “short-term efforts,” which means they need a clear end date. Does “strategic planning” ever end for good? Is there ever a time when you can permanently cross off “vacations” from your list? Hopefully not!
Every item on this list is, in fact, an area of responsibility—they continue indefinitely. This isn’t just semantics. I’ve learned that no matter how smart or driven you are, there are two critical things you cannot do until you break down your areas of responsibility into specific, concrete projects.