Yesterday, we covered moments when nesting or un-nesting might happen.
The life moments were easier to identify than the work moments.
After a bit of research, I found that the term nesting is used in call centers. The nesting phase is the time after classwork and before taking actual customer calls. During this time individuals are settling in and taking practice calls.
Another article talked about nesting in relation to individual workspaces. That article referred to nesting as the deliberate practice of setting up our workspace to enable us to be successful and fulfilled.
My Perspective
While the idea of nesting isn’t used often in a workplace setting, I think there is an interesting link to many areas of work. From yesterday’s post, the purpose of nesting is to plan, clean, and organize to prepare for what’s next.
Here’s an example of how the structure of nesting could be helpful in a project:
- Planning – What are you trying to accomplish? What is the timeline? Who will be involved?
- Clearing – Do you have the time to complete the project? Do meetings need to be removed? Does another project need to be completed before you take this on?
- Organizing – Is there research available that can get you started? Do you need to meet with others to collect background on the work?
During this time, you might also organize reports, create folders or binders for the project, and set up check-in meetings with the team. All of this is the foundation that could make the project run smoother.
The part of the process that is often skipped over is the un-nesting. This is the time at the end of the project where you clean and organize all the materials from the project.
During this time, you discard or delete files that are no longer relevant. Create a summary of what was done for future recap presentations or for your personal project portfolio.
Typically, we are so busy moving to the next project, we forget that we need to un-nest this one to help organize and clear the space for the next one.
Your Turn
Do you see this cycle of nesting with your work projects?
Could the framework of plan, clear and organize help?
Is the un-nest cycle something you always handle, or does it fall to the bottom of priorities?