Dear community, complex topics should be divided into smaller work packages with a clear definition of the task, put in the appropriate order, possibly distributed to different people and finally worked through gradually (some kind of “divide and conquer”). The actual work is typically done over a longer period of time, usually in individual sessions.
The problem
When working this way, I have observed that many people have difficulty getting back into a topic after a certain amount of time has passed. Because of the time that has passed or many other topics they have to do, they have simply forgotten where they left off and what they should do next. It then takes some mental effort to get back into the topic. This is time and energy consuming. Both can be better invested.
Solution approach
This can be made much easier by a very simple method that you should make a habit of. The trick is to leave yourself a little note telling you what to do next. The note should consist of a simple sentence or at least a combination of noun and verb.
The time it takes to write the note at the end of a meeting costs almost nothing. It takes hardly any time and your mind is already in the middle of the current topic. So you know exactly what the next step is.
In the end, you create a mental starting point for later. The value of this starting point is enormous.
Example from consulting
As a consultant, you are always dealing with complex processes that you like to run through in a test system. Due to the system settings, unexpected and unforeseeable problems can quickly arise, meaning that you cannot test the entire process in one go.
In this case, it is helpful to write a note such as “check document 123” or “check system settings for posting a document”. This way, you can quickly see where you left off next time with regard to the overall process.
Example from programming
As a software developer, you are always working on individual modules (hopefully). Sometimes the available time is not enough to finish programming a class, for example.
A note like “refactor method ABC of class XYZ” or “write unit tests for class XYZ” can be helpful as starting point for the future. This way, you know straight away where to continue next time.
Have fun trying it out
Michael