The Written Update | Customers, Etc.
Why take the time to compose a written update when it's already tracked in some productivity tool?
When I started doing consulting work for the first time this past summer, I kept facing this nagging feeling of am I adding value? I was interviewing key stakeholders and customers. I was tracking my hours and doing the work. It sure felt like I was adding value. But the nagging feeling remained.
Beyond doing the actual work, what else did I need to do?
I started writing. (Shocker, I know).
Specifically, I started sending weekly email updates to a set of stakeholders who I thought would benefit from being informed about what I was working on. They were mostly updates on the projects I was working on, some light editorialization, and a heads up on any upcoming consulting invoices. Pretty simple.
The real question is, in a world filled with productivity and other tools, why did I need to write at all?
There’s an allure to productivity apps that “if you just use the app, you won’t have to send an email.” Check the kanban board. Or the dashboard. Or the project plan. You don’t have to send an update because it’s all right there.
But sometimes that doesn’t feel like enough, even beyond the simple reason that not everybody checks in on these apps. Putting together a written update can be worth it, but why?
The value of a written update
One of the components is the update on key projects and deliverables. This is usually just a list of bullet points with the occasional note thrown in. The primary purpose of this section is to inform. Because my work as a consultant has me working with several different parts of the business at once, I find this helps me take stock of everything and put it into one place. This also helps me corral updates from disparate tools and systems from across the company.
The second point is that there’s often an opportunity to editorialize a bit and draw themes together. “I noticed that although these projects aren’t related, team members on both projects seem to be struggling with connecting their work back to company OKRs this quarter.” This can be a helpful way to draw attention to areas of the business that might go overlooked in the day-to-day hustle of getting things done.
The final benefit isn’t for the readers of my updates, but rather for me. The process of composing a written update is itself a discipline of housekeeping, bringing work up to date, and discovering focus for the upcoming week. All those various project management tools we use need regular maintenance. Yes it was great that we spelled out all those tasks at the team meeting earlier in the week, and maybe we’ve actually done some of them, but now it’s time to make sure everything is in sync with reality. And having done that, we have a clear line of sight for the following week.
Do you need a written update?
Does everyone need to give a weekly update? Not necessarily, but it can be a helpful habit.
If the people you’re working with all use the same productivity tool to keep track of work, sure, the tool itself provide’s the lion’s share of the information you need to get up to speed. But you might find it’s still helpful to put together a written update. There’s something about collecting your thoughts about the tasks you’ve completed—even when it’s already tracked somewhere—that helps you focus.
Finding a routine
I’ve started setting aside time on Friday afternoons to prepare my written updates. It usually takes a solid hour when you combine the productivity tool housekeeping and the actual writing. The result is that I have a clear head, stakeholders are informed, and I feel peace about tuning out from work and heading into the rest of the weekend.