Group work by context to turn scraps of time into wins

Lena managed a busy operations team and swore she had no time. Her days were full of interruptions, and she blamed the chaos. For a week, she built context lists: Calls, At Computer, Errands, and Agendas for her boss, finance, and her direct reports. She added phone numbers and links. By Wednesday, she found a five-minute window, glanced at Calls, and returned three vendor inquiries. Later, stuck in a waiting room, she cleared two items from At Computer using the guest Wi‑Fi. None of this was fancy, but it felt like finally catching green lights.

The next week, Lena noticed something else: fewer scrambles. Before leaving for a site visit, she checked Errands and added “pick up safety badges” to her route. Before a one‑to‑one, she opened her direct report’s Agenda and hit the important topics without forgetting the small ones. Her lists did the heavy lifting of remembering. The result showed up in small ways—the email backlog shrank, and her team stopped pinging her for decisions she had already logged to discuss.

A micro-anecdote from home: on a Saturday, Lena opened her Errands list and combined a return, a pharmacy pickup, and grabbing lightbulbs. Fifteen minutes of planning saved an hour of back‑and‑forth driving.

The point is not to squeeze every second. It’s to match the right work to the right context so momentum is easy. When your context changes—desk, car, hallway, meeting—your lists tell you what fits. And because each item includes needed details, you can act instead of hunt.

This approach reduces switching costs and leverages the Constraints x Opportunities model: context, time available, and energy determine what’s possible, then you choose by priority. It’s a simple form of situational awareness that turns scattered minutes into progress without mental strain.

Create Calls, At Computer, Errands, and Agendas lists and add actions with verbs and details so they’re easy to execute. When your context shifts—at your desk, out in the world, walking to a meeting—scan the matching list and pick a quick win. Before you leave the house or office, check Errands to batch stops. When you sit down with someone, open their Agenda so nothing gets missed. Treat these lists as your memory on paper for one week and notice how many small wins stack up. Start the lists tonight.