Getting Projects Completed Before the Holidays with the 25 Priorities Kanban Board

Completing your projects before the holidays brings us deep satisfaction, and most of you rush through November and December in a frenzy. Our common anxiety and fatigue levels have been higher in the last few years than before the Pandemic, and your adrenaline and cortisol have probably also been high the whole year. You can tell if you need more than a week to really relax. That’s what most of our research indicates at present. One week is no longer enough, let alone one day in the spa. However, it’s better to take a day than to wait until you are sick for three to six months.

Many of you feel the pressure of having a line manager, and their demands sometimes add to the pressure you already have. Let alone all the reminders you constantly receive from machines like Jira to work on your 267 unanswered tickets and 754 unanswered emails.

Being “busy” is not the same as being “productive”; therefore, I wanted to share a method that has helped me feel a sense of accomplishment over the last few years, especially before the holidays. I also wanted to share a few topics I observe in coaching conversations and provide you with a method for addressing them playfully. You can also involve your family in this activity because “Family Success is a Team Sport.”

1 – Oil the Perpetual Machine

What I am observing inside corporations and what increasingly frustrates me is the lack of accountability and the constant waste of resources and time. It reminds me of Jean Tingeluy’s artwork “Heureka” at my favorite spot in Zurich.

Often, it seems that many functions and positions are merely in place to maintain a well-oiled machine, but the value they add to the clients or companies they serve is minimal. You can oil the perpetual machine by learning more about generative AI and machine learning.

Many functions will lose significance shortly, and I predict we will abolish the old functional organizational models over the next five years. We should move towards the experience-based models of organizations, network approaches, and the “Flower of Hope”.

Check my latest publication, “The Global Rockstar Album”.

2 – Reduce the Data Squash

We also use a lot of time correcting or searching for data because the source does not contain the data or the data is flawed. We must rely on our brains to remember specific scenarios to cover all exceptional circumstances.

We hire more consultants to help us administer a workflow tool that does not deliver the data we need, instead of training the data entry specialist in the Philippines or India, so that the data is entered correctly.

We implement three levels of controls instead of helping the first handler of the data to deliver a zero-error quality report. Work on quality, training and skill building with your teams. Build collaboration ground rules. 

3 – Mend the Process Porcelain

Do you often chase someone because they forgot to take action on an item they were supposed to deliver, so you can continue your process?

You might be correcting processes and mending broken process porcelain because the decision-makers do not understand the process and just run around like a headless chicken.

Sometimes, you might feel like a mother at work, trying to collect the toys that the children left lying around all over the floor. You pick them up so nobody trips, but you also remain unnoticed while you quietly do your work in the background.

(My image here is that of the mended mask of Kylo Ren, an old Japanese tradition showcased in a lovely way in Star Wars.) 

4 – Feed the Digitalization Babies

Many digital processes are still in the “baby shoes”, so they often need someone to check them and ensure they are completed. I have been in arguments with my bank because they don’t offer a draft function to enter payments right when I receive the invoice and execute them later when I have enough funds in the account.

My payments often get stuck due to cash flow issues. Then, I need to build an administrative structure around the digital process. The funny thing is that they always blame the customer here. They hardly say: “This is an interesting idea, and if we can help you with that, we will consider it.”

Still, I encourage you to nurture the digitalization babies by providing them with input and guidance, and teaching them. It could easily be that nobody has ever thought of what you are telling them, and that your input helps another genius to improve what is broken.

5 – Piece together the Lego Spaceship

The more digitally you work, the more you miss the link between tools and systems (the rubber ring). Often, you work with many different tools and providers, and then it is your responsibility to link them all and, like LEGO, build your spaceship from scratch.

You might need to make a street or highway around a tool before you can create a linked system or even automate a process. It’s worthwhile bringing more minds to discuss solutions and workarounds.

We often feel exhausted and still feel we have not achieved anything meaningful. Therefore, the secret to feeling good about your productivity is in the system and how you visualize your contribution.

One suitable method is a physical Kanban board. The Kanban board had a revival with “Agile.” I remember writing an assignment in Tassie in 1995 about Total Quality Management and came across Kanban then.

A Personal Note from Angela Weinberger

Dear Reader

I would like to invite you to join our Global People Club. 

A bit of context: Over a decade ago (in 2010), I started my blog, globalpeopletransitions.com, after finally discovering that everything in IT was much simpler on a Mac…This blog morphed quickly into my company, and we incorporated it in Switzerland in May 2010.

I also started a weekly email newsletter called “The Global People Club Sandwich” for my clients. I share 

• my latest blog post, 

• baby step models, 

• tips and tricks for global rockstars like yourself, 

• hand-picked events for my people in Zurich, 

• and the latest podcast episode for “The Red Couch Talks” (one particular highlight of 2025 was Star Comedian Mike Casa)

My writing and insights are drawn from supporting over 500 coaching clients (and working in international roles and projects for 30 years), as well as from my own experiences of staying human in a robotic world. (Song reference: I’m only human…)

Promised: no bla bla, just real value, written by me (not ChatGPT aka Tom Robot), every week in your inbox as a Sunday read with your morning brunch at Bohemia. Sign up here: https://globalpeopletransitions.com/.

Resources

The Global Rockstar Album

Angie Weinberger’s Latest Song and The Global Rockstar Album