Comments on: Tee ‘em up http://richardkmiller.com/309/tee-em-up Tue, 15 May 2012 02:38:28 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Finding the Right Metaphor » Above Yourself http://richardkmiller.com/309/tee-em-up/comment-page-1#comment-144157 Finding the Right Metaphor » Above Yourself Fri, 01 Feb 2008 03:54:25 +0000 http://www.richardkmiller.com/blog/archives/2007/12/tee-em-up#comment-144157 [...] Tee ‘Em Up - My friend Richard was recently thinking about the way he wrote tasks on his to-do list. He wanted to set up his tasks in such a way that unfamiliar items could be easily tackled. He uses the automatic tees on a driving range to introduce this idea: Growing up in Las Vegas, our favorite place to hit golf balls was Desert Pines. It was 30 minutes away, but it boasted a double decker driving range and automatic tees. After each hit, the tee dropped into the floor and re-emerged with a new ball. You could hit ball after ball without the pesky work of bending down to tee them. You could keep your stance and stay in the zone. [...] [...] Tee ‘Em Up – My friend Richard was recently thinking about the way he wrote tasks on his to-do list. He wanted to set up his tasks in such a way that unfamiliar items could be easily tackled. He uses the automatic tees on a driving range to introduce this idea: Growing up in Las Vegas, our favorite place to hit golf balls was Desert Pines. It was 30 minutes away, but it boasted a double decker driving range and automatic tees. After each hit, the tee dropped into the floor and re-emerged with a new ball. You could hit ball after ball without the pesky work of bending down to tee them. You could keep your stance and stay in the zone. [...] ]]> By: Missy http://richardkmiller.com/309/tee-em-up/comment-page-1#comment-143848 Missy Thu, 10 Jan 2008 22:06:01 +0000 http://www.richardkmiller.com/blog/archives/2007/12/tee-em-up#comment-143848 Somehow you manged to come up with a golf analogy that was new; my dad hasn't had a new one since I was eight. I've had some new things to figure out at work this week at work & when things are technical I find myself overwhelmed. Jimmy's right, your examples are really good. I just wanted to say thanks - you are the Jon Udell of your peer group; this post has has been on my mind all week & I feel like it made a big difference. Somehow you manged to come up with a golf analogy that was new; my dad hasn’t had a new one since I was eight. I’ve had some new things to figure out at work this week at work & when things are technical I find myself overwhelmed. Jimmy’s right, your examples are really good. I just wanted to say thanks – you are the Jon Udell of your peer group; this post has has been on my mind all week & I feel like it made a big difference. ]]> By: Richard K Miller http://richardkmiller.com/309/tee-em-up/comment-page-1#comment-140785 Richard K Miller Wed, 12 Dec 2007 07:07:47 +0000 http://www.richardkmiller.com/blog/archives/2007/12/tee-em-up#comment-140785 Jimmy: Estimating how long it will take to complete a project is a skill I'd like to learn. I've always found it perplexing. Joel Spolsky talks about breaking down projects into 4 hour or 1 day blocks, at most, but I find even that difficult for large projects. Jimmy: Estimating how long it will take to complete a project is a skill I’d like to learn. I’ve always found it perplexing. Joel Spolsky talks about breaking down projects into 4 hour or 1 day blocks, at most, but I find even that difficult for large projects. ]]> By: Jimmy Zimmerman http://richardkmiller.com/309/tee-em-up/comment-page-1#comment-140735 Jimmy Zimmerman Tue, 11 Dec 2007 19:49:52 +0000 http://www.richardkmiller.com/blog/archives/2007/12/tee-em-up#comment-140735 I find that whenever I'm in a lull and just stare at a task for too long, it's usually because I've described the task in too general of terms. Your examples are really good. Breaking down your tasks into bite-sized chunks also helps in estimating how much time you'll need to get things done. Tee'ing up your tasks like you've outlined seems pretty simple and obvious, but I'm amazed at how many times I find myself stumped by a problem that is overcome just by describing what I need to do in more detail. I'm sure I'm not the only one that suffers from this. I think developers and project managers all over the world would benefit from this advice. Great follow up on your last post! Keep these coming. I find that whenever I’m in a lull and just stare at a task for too long, it’s usually because I’ve described the task in too general of terms. Your examples are really good.

Breaking down your tasks into bite-sized chunks also helps in estimating how much time you’ll need to get things done.

Tee’ing up your tasks like you’ve outlined seems pretty simple and obvious, but I’m amazed at how many times I find myself stumped by a problem that is overcome just by describing what I need to do in more detail. I’m sure I’m not the only one that suffers from this. I think developers and project managers all over the world would benefit from this advice.

Great follow up on your last post! Keep these coming.

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