Date your whiteboard notes
• 220 words • 2 min
If you work in an office, chances are there is at least one whiteboard available for you. Maybe it’s in a conference room, maybe it’s free-floating by the desk areas.
Either way, when you decide to take notes, consider adding your name and a date next to them.
It’s good courtesy, and could help the next person decide whether to erase your notes. Old notes are more forgiving to be erased, whereas recent notes (e.g. from this week) may warrant double-asking their author.
I tend to treat my whiteboard notes as throwaway. When they are important, I snap a picture (in case someone deletes them), and write: “DO NOT ERASE UNTIL YYYY-MM-DD”. Otherwise, assume it’s fair game to lose them.
What to write in the whiteboard?
First of all, don’t write anything that is private. It is common sense, but the concept of private is subjective. You probably wouldn’t write personal notes, however confidential information could also be deemed as private in this context.
I like to brainstorm with different pencil marker colors. Draw diagrams, mind
maps, arrows. Arrows everywhere. Scaffold my TODO list for the week. Visualize
all my pending and upcoming tasks, then prioritize a subset of them. Have the
pleasure to strike through completed tasks.
It enriches the office experience, especially when you have your own whiteboard.