Use a “single Source of Truth” to Be More Productive
When you get your first office job, you learn a whole new language. Suddenly you’re aware of your team’s ‘workflow’, you have to declare whether you have the ‘bandwidth’ to take on new responsibility, and constantly ‘go back’ and ‘go deeper’, all in the name of achievement.” training.” One workplace lingo you may not have grasped yet is “single source of truth”—and it’s actually a useful tool for staying organized. Here’s what a “single source of truth” is and why you should implement it into your (excuse me) workflow.
What is the single source of truth?
When your boss refers to a single source of truth, he is actually referring to a repository of all information and resources related to your work. That’s it: it can include everything you need for a specific project or your job in general, such as contracts, instructions, deadlines, contact sheets, templates, overviews… the list goes on.
It should be well organized and accessible to everyone who has anything to do with the project. Previously, this might have been a big old folder, but the modernized version likely includes cloud-based software. For example, Google Drive is ideal for SSOT.
Using SSOT is similar to the productivity “action method,” which asks you to sort your tasks into action steps, links, and secondary tasks using a spreadsheet. The links column contains information related to completing your task and can be thought of as a small SSOT.
How do you use SSOT?
If you’re part of a team, you can use a project management software or tool like Google Drive, OneDrive, or SharePoint. The first document should be a list of all project or team members, as well as their contact information. Use this to ensure that everyone on the list has access to SSOT. It’s also helpful to have a naming scheme so that files can be easily identified as the folder fills up. Something like LastName_DocumentTitle_Date.extension works great.
If it makes sense, give everyone edit access so they can mark what they’ve done or add resources as they become available. If your team has too many members or you need control, leave editing permissions only for managers.
SSOTs eliminate confusion about who should do what and how they can do it, and make it easier for team members to do what they do. For example, if someone gets sick, their responsibilities and the tools they use to complete their tasks are immediately available in a single source of truth.
You can also use an SSOT plan for personal use, such as tracking your own progress on a work project or for something else, such as managing your home. Create a folder for contacts related to your children’s activities, maintenance and cleaning professionals, and other tasks you need. This is useful if you ever need to share details for any reason, such as if you need to go out of town and ask a friend to look after your house.
As pompous as “single source of truth” may sound, it is one of those corporate ideas that has real benefits and will actually make your life easier by giving you (again, forgive me) more options for other things.