Cats & Tasks
1. There are many ways to skin a cat.
2. There are even more ways to schedule a task.
I was cat sitting in Denver when I found myself at the confluence of these truths: between the cats, lawn, garbage, garden, and house plants, there were scores of chores, each with a different assigned frequency. Feed the cats every morning and evening. Mow the lawn once a week. Water it every three days; greenhouse plants every other. Times ten.
If I couldn’t figure out how to do it all with perfect consistency, I risked brown flora, dead fauna, and any number of other household calamities—and I’d be the one getting skinned.
Scheduling Solved
What would save my hide was a special kind of chore chart:
- One that provided great detail over a short time horizon.
- That sifted through a huge list of tasks to highlight only those due.
- That wasn’t bound to a strict schedule, but adapted to actual completion dates.
- And that was shareable and kept a record what I’d done. (So that when the ferns wilted, I could prove it wasn’t for lack of watering.)
With a cat on my lap, I sat down with a spreadsheet. And thus Intricate Assignment was born: a recurring task log specifically designed for short-term projects with many chores at different but consistent frequencies.
For sitters
Sitters of all stripes (cat- dog- garden- house-) should find this functionality ideally suited to their most particular employers and complex assignments. For each new gig, make a new copy of the template; populate it with all assigned tasks; and if you wish, share it with your employer to prove your competency and ease their anxiety.
For the sat
The converse use case may be even more compelling: that of homeowners and animal companions who commission sitting services. Compared to the typical practice—a rambling litany of instructions-in-prose—this template makes your instructions crystal clear; actively aids your proxy with reliability and timeliness; and keeps a real-time record of what’s getting done. In short, it helps ensure nothing is neglected; while letting you know if it is.
For more than that?
Are there other applications for such a specialized task management system? If there are, I’d love to hear how you put it to use: whatever this helps you manage, tweet or Instagram your unique use case #IntricateAssignment @engineerexplore.
