Tag Archives: wip

HOW TO: How to Limit WIP #3–Reducing Interruptions

Four hours ago, I walked up to a big pad of paper and started mind mapping all the types of interruptions we might face while trying to get our work done. While I was working, Tonianne, who was on Skype, … Continue reading

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HOW TO: How to Limit WIP #2–Affinity Mapping

Does this look familiar? This is a problem, because an disorderly and frightening READY column is, in and of itself, a form of work-in-progress. Even if you are limiting your WIP, looking at that huge string of demanding post-its weighs … Continue reading

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HOW TO: Limit Your Work-in-Progress #1–Calm Down and Finish

We had a long series, which is soon to become a mini-book, on why you should limit your work-in-progress (WIP). In it we focused on the dangerous side effects of being overworked, of which there are many. Those articles show … Continue reading

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The Pen: The Handoff Column

In our work, we have tasks we need to do, tasks we are doing, and tasks we’ve completed. We know we have a WIP limit and that we shouldn’t exceed it. But tasks aren’t always as tidy as we’d like. … Continue reading

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Learning: Why Limit Your WIP X

In “Creating an Economy” we discussed four elements we needed to understand to build our economy. The third was that knowledge work involves learning. Knowledge workers need to learn – they learn by doing, by observing, by experimenting, by reading, … Continue reading

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Communication: Why Limit WIP IX

“Good morning, Eldred.” “Good morning, Markus.” Before Markus came on board, there was zero contact with the CEO. Maybe at the Christmas party. He was more like a movie star – someone you recognized but didn’t dare approach. Certainly not … Continue reading

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Awareness: Why Limit WIP VIII

Whether you call it Buddhism or another religion, self-discipline, that’s important. Self-discipline with awareness of consequences. ~ Dalai Lama Self-discipline with the awareness of consequences. When we become self-aware, we shed learned helplessness. The inability to act is replaced by … Continue reading

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Focus: Why Limit Your WIP VII

You can’t depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus. ~ Mark Twain Eldred comes into work on Monday. He is instantly besieged by requests for work, information, meetings, and product from all five of his teams. … Continue reading

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Creating an Economy: Why Limit Your WIP V

“Stop starting and start finishing.” – David Anderson You, right now, are disrespecting your ability to create amazing things. You, right now, are doing more than you should, for more people than is optimal, and in an environment that is … Continue reading

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Context Switching: Why Limit Your WIP IV

Context switching is the Red Menace of modern day knowledge work. In every presentation about context switching we have Gerry Weinberg’s chart of productivity loss – so let’s get that out of the way at the beginning. So, if we … Continue reading

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