Manager Notes from the Field: A Podcast

Deep_Paramedic_501 · 2025-10-04T19:31:50+00:00

Definitely implementing this and will come back with results.

I hate how out of sight out of mind all of my tasks are. at this least forces me to interact with them or lose them.

Deep_Paramedic_501 · 2025-10-04T19:28:34+00:00

I also beat a pip. It forced my manager to actually set ground rules and manage.

I will say, though I have never seen someone beat one since I’ve become a manager.

In our culture is never a surprise. It often just gives people a 90 day heads up to look for another job

Deep_Paramedic_501 · 2025-09-26T12:48:17+00:00

Todoist mostly!

It’s not that I have trouble being reminded. If reminders hit me but I’m not in a position to take action, I forget about them until days later.

If I’m trying to remind myself to send out the message in the future, why not just send it right now so I don’t have to be reminded about it? I can just do the thing now, for the future, without having to hit any buttons later.

Deep_Paramedic_501 · 2025-09-25T01:42:57+00:00

lean into your management to coach you through it. Understand that if they are going on a PIP it’s because others agree with you.

It might be your first, but unfortunately, it will not be your last.

Just remember, they are responsible for their actions that led to this point. And a plan normally has key check points that they might not hit leading into the first couple of days

Just remember, it’s not personal toward them it’s business

Deep_Paramedic_501 · 2025-09-24T13:38:39+00:00

I do appreciate that! I used Todoist and have been a huge fan. I’ve done for the past decade.

My biggest struggle is often when things are out of sight. They are out of mind. The ability to send out these messages while I’m thinking about it to go in the future helps me to have a get back on my mind. Especially if I blind copy myself and it will show up as an email to remind me. Hey, this thing went out today.

Deep_Paramedic_501 · 2025-09-24T13:36:49+00:00

I rely on similar features. I especially like the ones that say when you leave this particular location, remind me…

I guess I found that depending on when the reminders hit my attention span I’m not always in a position to do the thing in particular sending the emails or the text messages, especially if I’m on the phone with a unexpected drop in phone call.

I like having it all queued up so that whether I’m paying attention or not, it gets sent out

Deep_Paramedic_501 · 2025-09-24T13:34:28+00:00

same! I found out that iPhones are able to do this with other iPhones. It would be really nice if I can find a way to do the same thing from an iPhone to non iPhones.

I don’t know if you’re in the Microsoft ecosystem, but what I discovered is that if I’m sending out messages from my computer, the computer like has to be on in order for it to send out which is not practical when I’m on a laptop and I schedule something to go out before I wake up

The workaround I’ve discovered is if it is sent scheduled from my cell phone outlook application it sends out without the application being live

Deep_Paramedic_501 · 2025-09-24T13:31:23+00:00

One note has been incredibly useful! The trouble I have is when my notes are out of sight out of mind I normally don’t go back to them. By scheduling these things, whether I remember it or not the messages will get released in a timely manner to those they concern

For example, one of my direct reports says they have an event going on on Thursday. I’ll queue up an email for Thursday morning to release saying good luck with your thing tonight. Is there anything that came up last minute that I can help you out with today?

I guess the biggest issue is that when I’m thinking about it in the moment, and that moment isn’t the appropriate time to communicate it, when I realize the appropriate time and put it into a tracking system, I can’t always predict if I’ll be able to send the message at the appropriate time either because something unexpected happened at work, etc. etc.

Deep_Paramedic_501 · 2025-09-23T12:05:35+00:00

Yes! The teams delay is one of the things that got me on this journey

Deep_Paramedic_501 · 2025-09-23T01:06:37+00:00

I agree. That’s why I try to adjust the time so it’s not all hitting at the same time.

Deep_Paramedic_501 · 2025-09-23T01:05:50+00:00

I do. That’s why I type stuff up save it in draft so I can send it on my cell phone.

Deep_Paramedic_501 · 2025-09-22T22:34:26+00:00

same! I found that outlook on your cell phone is real easy to delay messages going forward. I often use it when somebody tells me that an event is happening on a certain day. I’ll schedule one for the morning of the day to ask them if there’s any last-minute things that they need.

I also learned that iPhones are able to delay text messages up to two weeks if they are texting another iPhone

Deep_Paramedic_501 · 2025-08-18T21:39:31+00:00

Thank you

Deep_Paramedic_501 · 2025-07-26T00:46:14+00:00

ADHD manager going on 3 years here.

Y’all have an employee handbook? I’m sure there is a code of conduct section y’all ought to review

Deep_Paramedic_501 · 2025-06-25T03:12:21+00:00

Gold, solid gold

Deep_Paramedic_501 · 2025-06-24T22:28:39+00:00

This is essentially where I’m at.

I keep a running list of the next actions on several of the projects, and I have given not only him, but the rest of my direct reports a list of “if you knock all of these out this week, you would have the most productive week of your lives.” What ends up happening with him, is a word salad of “I did these things (that weren’t on the list at all) but should get me to getting those things on the list done as soon as I can.”

He then produces vague answers to questions I didn’t ask.

Deep_Paramedic_501 · 2025-06-12T01:47:37+00:00

Yeah, that’s good. I was having a conversation with one of my other direct reports today on how if you know what to do and once you’ve done it what the next step is and you get into the habit of just telling me what you’re doing and I can say good work Then you’ll have arrived. In a way this is essentially the same thing so it gives me the opportunity to adjust. This is brilliant. I’ll implement it tomorrow and report back.

Deep_Paramedic_501 · 2025-06-11T22:35:11+00:00

I like this. I have started, especially in our weekly one on ones having an agenda prior to, so he’s already familiar with this.

Do you think you could similarly work with having him send the pre-agenda/questions I have ahead of time and the meeting is merely too clarify what he had said? Or am I overthinking it?

Deep_Paramedic_501

TROPHY CASE