Templates
Nine templates to copy
Every document the playbook asks for, ready to paste into your project tool or shared doc. Change the words in brackets and keep the headings.
Weekly priority post
Chapter 2 · Post every Monday, at the start of the earliest time zone’s day.
Priorities for the week of [date]
1. [Priority one] · Owner: [name] · Next step: [one line]
2. [Priority two] · Owner: [name]
3. [Priority three] · Owner: [name]
Not now
[Work people will be tempted to start, and why it waits]
What changed since last week
[One line on anything that moved, and why]
What can jump the order
Only work marked urgent by a manager, or due today.
Disagree?
Reply in writing by [Tuesday, time and time zone].
Friday recap
Chapter 3 · Fifteen minutes to write, built from the work.
Week of [date]: what moved, what’s stuck
Moved: [what finished or crossed a milestone, one line each]
Stuck: [what’s blocked, who it’s waiting on, and since when]
Decisions needed: [anything waiting on me, with the date I’ll decide by]
Next week’s top three: [copied from the priority post]
Status states and the stuck rule
Chapter 3 · Agree once, then silence means on track.
States
Done · In progress · Waiting · Stuck
Mark a task stuck when
• You’ve been blocked for more than half a working day.
• You’ve passed the estimate by half again, and you’re not close.
• You’ve put the same task aside twice.
• You learn something that changes the deadline.
When you mark it stuck
Say what you need, and from whom, on the task itself.
Async handoff note
Chapter 4 · Usually fits in one short message.
Handoff: [task]
Done looks like: [one sentence with a finish line]
Background: [links to the thread, files and last version]
My hunch about the first step: [one line]
You can decide alone: [list]
Check with me on: [list]
Proceed unless I object by your morning on [date].
Most likely way this goes wrong: [one line]
Checkpoint: [a point in the work, not a time]
Close-out: reply here with the link and a two-line summary.
Decision limits
Chapter 4 · Write limits for the decisions that reach you most.
Decision · Decide it yourself when · Check with me when
Client scope requests · It fits the signed scope or adds under [2] hours · It changes a date or the price
Spending · Under $[500] and inside the budget line · Over $[500], or a new vendor
Your own task order · It doesn’t move anyone else’s deadline · It delays someone else’s work
A client complaint · You can fix it within a day · It involves a refund or the contract
Numbers in brackets are examples. Raise them as the team shows it can handle them.
Handover document
Chapter 4 · Kept next to the work, updated by whoever ran it last.
[Responsibility]: handover
What this is and who it’s for: [one paragraph a newcomer could read]
Recurring steps, in order: [step, and where it happens]
Exceptions: [the client who pays late, the report that needs a manual fix]
Access: [which accounts, who grants them, where credentials are stored; never the credentials]
People: [who to contact outside the team, and what each cares about]
Done looks like: [how the second owner knows when to stop]
Response-time agreement
Chapter 5 · Windows count the recipient’s working hours.
Reply windows
Urgent: within 2 working hours
Blocking question: within half a working day
Handoff: a plan back within 1 working day
Review: within 2 working days
Urgent means
Marked urgent by a manager, or due today. Nothing else.
Habits
• Check messages at set times.
• Label messages “no reply needed” or “reply by [date]”.
• Use overlap hours for decisions, not updates.
Ready-to-resume note
Chapter 5 · Write it before you switch, not after.
Where I am: [what’s done and what’s missing]
Next step: [the first thing to do when I come back]
What I parked: [anything I postponed that needs checking]
Visibility policy
Chapter 6 · Publish it before you change anything else.
Why we measure
To see where work waits and get it moving, not to judge individuals.
What we track
Each task’s owner and state, how long it waited, how often it was set aside, and time logged against its estimate.
Who sees it
You and your manager. Logged hours also go to payroll or billing. Nobody else.
What we never collect
Screenshots, keystrokes, app or website activity, or anyone else’s inbox. No rankings of people.
How it changes
In writing, with a week’s notice, after the team has had a chance to comment.
