Productivity Tips for Better, Faster Documentation

At last count, I’m the embedded tech writer for around 15 different functional teams that span several larger organizations at Indeed. This means I attend meetings, take on projects, address issues, and generally serve as a tech writing consultant for each of these teams. Plus, I do other stuff like lead communications for Indeed’s LGBTQ+ employee resource group (ERG) and help with publicity around global programs and systems. It’s a lot to balance, and I love every minute of it.

It hasn’t always been easy, though. I didn’t just magically enter my tech career with the ability to handle multiple projects at once, let alone execute quickly with a high level of quality. I’ve learned a lot along the way, and I want to share some of those lessons here.

Organization is a practice

I can’t say this enough: organization is a practice. It’s an ongoing, living, and evolving exercise. I’m frequently experimenting with different ways to organize my work. My primary guiding principles when it comes to organization tools: keep it lightweight, and if it doesn’t work for you, scrap it. These are a few of my favorite tools at the moment.

Trello

I really love checking off lists and moving cards around, so Trello works well for me—even in my personal writing. I create categories for all my major projects and list tasks under each. Then, I drag tasks into a To Do column on the far left side of my Trello board as needed. It’s a quick and easy to do list with a tactile bonus.

Jira

My work mantra is Jira or it didn’t happen. Perhaps better phrasing would be Jira or it won’t happen, seriously. I get a lot of email and, though I mean well, things get lost in my inbox. I frequently ask stakeholders to create Jira tickets for work they’d like done, and anytime I see a ticket-worthy email in my inbox, I get it in Jira as quickly as possible. Sometimes, I’ll just copy the body of an email into the ticket description and go back to organize my thoughts later (see the section on MVP mindset below). At a minimum, each of my Jira tickets has a goal, steps to completion, stakeholders, due date, and expected outcome listed in the Description field.

Confluence

Confluence is great for so many things, but I especially love its personal spaces and dashboard capabilities. Now, I love a good dashboard, but I need it to show me everything. I need it to be interactive, well designed, and clean. It took me a long time to hit my Confluence dashboard sweet spot, but I’ve finally landed on a version that works for me. It includes links to my one on one notes and project pages, a Jira filter displaying all my current issues, and my calendar. Anyone can come to my personal space and get a high-level view of what I’m working on with just a glance at my dashboard. Plus, it’s got accents in my favorite color, sheen green (#8fd400, in case you were wondering).

Prioritize

I prioritize everything with a concrete deadline first. For each item with a concrete deadline, I try to build in at least a week of extra time in my project plans in case something goes wrong. If senior leadership must approve before publication, I build in even more time to accommodate any delays caused by their busy schedules.

After I’ve prioritized things with concrete deadlines, I then prioritize things that will have the most impact on the company. Global rollouts of technology or procedures and things that affect many people across the company come first. Major engineering infrastructure projects also go directly to the top of my priority list. If there’s a serious legal implication involved, like communications for GDPR, that lands at the top too.

Everything else, I work on as needed and as time becomes available. For the things that frequently land at the bottom of my list, I make a point to stay in contact with stakeholders and let them know it hasn’t slipped off my radar. You’d be surprised how understanding people are when you’re completely honest with them and touch base proactively and frequently.

Adopt the MVP Mindset

If you’ve been around a product manager, you’ve probably heard the term minimum viable product (MVP). An MVP is the product with the fewest amount of features that will serve customers and incite feedback for future development. It doesn’t just work for software applications and websites, though. When used correctly, the MVP mindset can increase your documentation productivity and improve your end products.

Anytime I receive a request or take on a large project, I ask myself “What can I deliver today, tomorrow, or by the end of this week that will satisfy one of the stakeholders’ needs and allow them to give me feedback?” Once I have the answer, I go create that thing and deliver it as quickly as possible. I can then ask for feedback from my stakeholders on a tangible documentation deliverable.

By operating this way, I don’t spend hours perfecting something that might not work for my customers, nor do I waste precious minutes falling down research rabbit holes. Instead, I create the minimum viable documentation, gather feedback, and iterate on it until everyone agrees it’s a solid solution.

Take charge, then recharge

Of course, it takes a lot more than just these tips to reach peak productivity. One of the most important practices I advocate is self care and downtime. Except in rare, specific circumstances, I do not work outside of work hours. I don’t even check email. I make my colleagues aware of this and encourage them to do the same. By guarding my time off, I can fully relax and increase my productivity when I’m at work.

At the end of the day, I’m not just a tech writer. I’m a family member and a dog mom, a runner and a motorcycle enthusiast. Oh, and I’m writing a memoir. But by enacting productivity practices like these, I can get my work done, get out of there, and get on with my life—and keep my customers happy the whole time.