{"id":7399,"date":"2014-10-09T08:06:45","date_gmt":"2014-10-09T15:06:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.seedcode.com\/?p=7399"},"modified":"2014-10-09T08:06:45","modified_gmt":"2014-10-09T15:06:45","slug":"project-management-grammar-hack-time-words","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seedcode.com\/project-management-grammar-hack-time-words\/","title":{"rendered":"Project Management Grammar Hack: Time Words"},"content":{"rendered":"

Using time words<\/h2>\n

Projects wander. Customers have unreasonable expectations. We make promises we can\u2019t keep and\u00a0that our customers misinterpret. Yet a simple grammar hack\u00a0may help curb all of this.<\/p>\n

Consider the difference in clarity between these two versions of a project\u2019s \u201cnext steps\u201d we might send to a customer:<\/p>\n

“The project would cost $X,XXX and take about two weeks. We\u2019ll also need your high-res images.”<\/p>\n

Versus the clearer version:<\/p>\n

“The project would cost $X,XXX. After we receive your payment and high res images, the project will then take us about two weeks.”<\/p>\n

The words \u201cafter\u201d and \u201cthen\u201d make a huge difference. Include a payment link with the second version and the customer clearly knows what\u2019s expected. Send the first version, and you\u2019ll email back and forth a few\u00a0more times before you get started. An even clearer version would be:<\/p>\n

“The project would cost $X,XXX. After we receive your payment and high res images, the project will then take us about two weeks. If you can get the payment and images to us by 2pm Monday we\u2019d be able to deliver your project\u00a0the morning of the 21st.”<\/p>\n

Time words are those that put a pin in the temporal map–day names like \u201con Monday\u201d and times like \u201cby 2pm\u201d–as well as words that describe sequences in time: \u201cbefore\u201d \u201cafter\u201d, \u201cuntil\u201d.[ba-pullquote align=”right”]Communicating *without* time words is like sending someone a madlibs version of your plans[\/ba-pullquote]<\/p>\n

Sentences that include time words create a more explicit story about what you\u2019ll be doing for someone or what you expect them to do for you. Lacking these words, people will fill in the gaps in the story you\u2019re telling with their own specifics. Folks will also fill in their own details if you use vague time words like \u201csoon\u201d or vague calendar names like \u201cnext week\u201d Our minds like to solve puzzles and finish incomplete stories. So communicating *without* time words is like sending someone a madlibs<\/a> version of your plans.<\/p>\n

\"70251\"<\/a>Telling someone you\u2019ll reply to them \u201cnext week\u201d is a similar problem. Your type-A contact who has a high need for social inclusion may interpret that to be \u201cas soon as next week begins,\u201d meaning Monday morning. While I, perhaps more given to procrastination, may figure I\u2019ve given myself until Thursday or Friday before I\u2019m breaking my word by not replying yet. That gap between our two interpretations leads to disappointment and to stress: I know I\u2019m disappointing my contact less if I reply earlier in the week and displeasing them more if I reply later in the week. Carrying around five or six such vague obligations–where the best case outcome is displeasing someone less<\/em>–is a sure fire way to feel like you\u2019re never keeping up.<\/p>\n

(Like many things, this is really just an interpretation of the first of the Four Agreements<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

Making time words part of your routine<\/h2>\n

Giving your correspondence a quick read-through to make sure you\u2019ve included specific time words takes only a minute and will really improve the quality of your interactions. Putting these specific times on the calendar at the same time (during that read-through) will help you record your commitments and assure you\u2019re making new promises in the context of the commitments you\u2019ve already made.<\/p>\n

It would be great if there were a tool out there that could take your email containing time words and make a series of appointments out of it–make a little gantt chart for you automatically–so you could see your commitments in context. I’m sure someone’s working on that.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Using time words Projects wander. Customers have unreasonable expectations. We make promises we can\u2019t keep and\u00a0that our customers misinterpret. Yet a simple grammar hack\u00a0may help curb all of this. Consider the difference in clarity between these two versions of a project\u2019s \u201cnext steps\u201d we might send to a customer: “The project would cost $X,XXX and take about two weeks. We\u2019ll also need your high-res images.” Versus the clearer version: “The project would cost $X,XXX. After we receive your payment and high res images, the project will then take us about two weeks.” The words \u201cafter\u201d and \u201cthen\u201d make a huge difference. Include a payment link with the second version and the customer clearly knows what\u2019s expected. Send the first version, and you\u2019ll email back and forth a few\u00a0more times before you get started. An even clearer version would be: “The project would cost $X,XXX. After we receive your payment and high res images, the project will then take us about two weeks. If you can get the payment and images to us by 2pm Monday we\u2019d be able to deliver your project\u00a0the morning of the 21st.” Time words are those that put a pin in the temporal map–day names like \u201con Monday\u201d and times like \u201cby 2pm\u201d–as well as words that describe sequences in time: \u201cbefore\u201d \u201cafter\u201d, \u201cuntil\u201d.[ba-pullquote align=”right”]Communicating *without* time words is like sending someone a madlibs version of your plans[\/ba-pullquote] Sentences that include time words create a more explicit story about what you\u2019ll be doing for someone or what you expect them to do for you. Lacking these words, people will fill in the gaps in the story you\u2019re telling with their own specifics. Folks will also fill in their own details if you use vague time words like \u201csoon\u201d or vague calendar names like \u201cnext week\u201d Our minds like to solve puzzles and finish incomplete stories. So communicating *without* time words is like sending someone a madlibs version of your plans. Telling someone you\u2019ll reply to them \u201cnext week\u201d is a similar problem. Your type-A contact who has a high need for social inclusion may interpret that to be \u201cas soon as next week begins,\u201d meaning Monday morning. While I, perhaps more given to procrastination, may figure I\u2019ve given myself until Thursday or Friday before I\u2019m breaking my word by not replying yet. That gap between our two interpretations leads to disappointment and to stress: I know I\u2019m disappointing my contact less if I reply earlier in the week and displeasing them more if I reply later in the week. Carrying around five or six such vague obligations–where the best case outcome is displeasing someone less–is a sure fire way to feel like you\u2019re never keeping up. (Like many things, this is really just an interpretation of the first of the Four Agreements.) Making time words part of your routine Giving your correspondence a quick read-through to make sure you\u2019ve included specific time words takes only a minute and will really improve the quality of your interactions. Putting these specific times on the calendar at the same time (during that read-through) will help you record your commitments and assure you\u2019re making new promises in the context of the commitments you\u2019ve already made. It would be great if there were a tool out there that could take your email containing time words and make a series of appointments out of it–make a little gantt chart for you automatically–so you could see your commitments in context. I’m sure someone’s working on that.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7412,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[20],"class_list":["post-7399","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-making-time"],"yoast_head":"\nProject Management Grammar Hack: Time Words - SeedCode<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Projects wander and we make promises we can\u2019t keep. 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