The Manual of Me

How I think

I see the world through the Theory of Constraints (TOC) and consider myself a better iterator than innovator. I thrive when my day is time-blocked and includes deep work.
I check email about three times daily and am at my worst when late for meetings or deadlines. If it's not in my calendar or task manager, it may not happen.
My personal interest is the intersection of workflow and leadership—hence the name of my LLC. You can count on me to step back and consider how we perform the work.
"Real time sometimes, asynchronous most of the time." I will answer or return calls as soon as I'm able; expect a same-day response to texts or chats and next-business-day response to emails.

Coordination
- Email is terrible for scheduling. Hire a savvy administrative assistant or use booking software.
- Don't use application defaults for meeting length. Think about the purpose and develop an agenda. Consider a reverse meeting or office hours instead.
- Try to take time after meetings to process it. For every hour of meeting, I schedule one hour for deep work.
- Version control prevents confusion. Use change tracking and share links, not files.
Execution
- Do your research and don't duplicate what already exists. Follow, point to, or update it.
- Keep the reader in mind and make your writing useful. Clearly state your purpose up front. Use an AI-based writing partner and read your writing aloud.
- Avoid passive voice and use "per" instead of "in accordance with."
- Fewer acronyms and abbreviations is better.
- Specific, properly rounded numbers are more impressive than adjectives.
- Not everything gets capitalized. When in doubt, follow the GPO Style Manual.
- "Patrick M. Lineberry" for formal stuff and "Pat Lineberry" for everything else.