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Dividers – Making Notes on an Assignment
By Roy Law of Systems Studio
Suddenlv realised that I'd been on the two-week assignment for nearly three months, and so it was probably worthwhile reorganising the notes in my Project File (never thought that would raise the spectre of Dr Max Lüscher). It was also a Saturday afternoon in high summer, so it was pouring with rain. Being an old hand I always reckon on making notes like crazy for at least the first three days on site - you hear a lot of things then that will be useful later, and at that stage people don't get worried if you write things down. The “Black File” approach (rather than clipboard) also gives a spurious air of instant professionalism. So does the A4 8-column analysis pad (relic of accountancy working papers) and there is a welcome and impressive discipline in filling-in the heading boxes on each sheet. Each sheet has a unique Ref (the first page of the first day gets cryptically described as “D01/1”). Already I'm imposing order where there was chaos: I am demonstrably in control. The light cross-ruling on these pads is also ideal for tabulating data, flow diagrams, and even for odd riffs of code. There are at least two hidden reasons, of course. You must always look busy, and initially there will be moments where you either haven't enough to do or just don't know where the hell to start. Diligent review and annotation of existing notes is the answer and also it often provides the means of solution. At the most fundamental level you can note where the loo is, write down all the first names you can remember - then try and add surnames, phone extensions and functions. Until the pressure builds up it is a good idea to start each day with a fresh page: this creates welcome bulk at the beginning and also gives room for expansion of the original notes. Anyway, I digress from my reorganization. The written pages were filed in my Project File as they were written with the latest already on top (inverse date order for the pedantic). They are interspersed with Xerox copies of useful third-party documents (second-party ones being like baby pigeons) and have corners of yellow perils sticking out at important places. Some of these aren't yellow, some don't have writing on, and it becomes hard to remember why some of the latter were put there in the first place. Today we are going to insert Monthly Dividers. I have run out of preprinted ones, can’t afford to buy any more at the moment, so decide to use plain 5-part ones and add vertical month name abbreviations using the posh label printer. This printer I bought for giving client backup tapes and printout binders the aforesaid air of instant professionalism. Now I discover that I have run out of the cheapo 5-part dividers that I use for my own stuff: OK, have to go on to the smart coloured plastic ones that I keep for client presentations or training manuals. This is where Dr Max's ghost starts laughing. I realise that if I deliberately invert the out-of-the-packet order then the colour sequence becomes significant for many assignments: GREY. Month 1. The low profile you are deliberately keeping, the fact that many people don't know you yet, or else it's the colour of your face as you realise what you have taken on.
GREEN. Month 2. You think you have got to grips with the situation and know how the client operates. Sucker.
RED. Month 3. No sun-dried tomatoes in this recipe - probably represents creative activity peaking, or the colour of senior permie's faces as they contemplate the efficiency of your innovations and the effect it may have on them, or could it be the danger that you are now in?
YELLOW. Month 4. Does this best describe your belly or the whites of your eyes after too many jars? Somehow a white feather sounds much more elegant and genteel. Crunch time. Have you gone too far? It is for you to decide, will you stand by your professional training and principles - or will you go native and opt for a quiet life with the other time-servers?
BLUE. Month 5. How you feel if your best proposals have been flatly sat on (now that's a good mixed metaphor), the fire has gone out of your approach to this contract, or if you're just worried where the next assignment is coming from. This monthly-divider system fits in well with the way human memory works. If I'm on a fixed-term contract (or can't wait to complete my "sentence") then I fill my file with the requisite number of dividers. However, if I'm hoping for repeated extensions then I don't leave any blank or future months showing. Never mind Dr Max, the politically-correct Person Luck might be watching!
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Contributor's Note
Copyright 2003-2008 Roy Law
Originally published in "Freelance Informer"
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"... more than management accounting reports and proofreading"
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This intel was contributed by Roy Law
Roy Law
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February, 2012
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2008
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