Tips and Tricks for Cad

I'm fond of saying the CAD manager has the toughest technical job I can think of precisely because both technical and managerial skill sets must be in proper balance to achieve real success.
The purpose of this article is to beef up the managerial side of your job with some tips and tricks I've found helpful. I can't take credit for all the tips; I have to share that with the many CAD managers I've met over the years. My hope is you'll find some nuggets in these tips and tricks that you can apply to your daily efforts. Here goes.

Keep an Informal Log (Diary)

You can keep this log as an electronic document (I like Microsoft Word) or in a stenographer's pad to keep everything in one notebook. The log serves as an aid to memory, and it documents what types of problems keep coming up. For example, three months from now during John Doe's performance review you might want some proof that you've had to explain the same concept to him 14 times in the last three months. If you keep a log you'll have the proof.
Make no mistake; a big part of management is keeping things in writing. An informal log goes a long way towards documenting what you're doing, when, and to what extent you're experiencing problems. Your log may well become the basis for anything from performance reviews to information that supports litigation against vendors who don't perform.
If you want to prove something later, write it down now.

Assign Yourself T

Early on in my career I started to keep a weekly task list that I used to track my progress. Every week I wrote a brief report to my boss explaining what I did and did not get done on my list for the week. I've found no other way to motivate myself more effectively than this simple weekly report to my boss.
Not only did my supervisors appreciate the quick status report (after all it saves them time), but it also showed that I took my responsibilities seriously enough to monitor my own progress. I also found that keeping my weekly list documented all the "hurry up" and "oops we forgot to tell you" type jobs I received from others who didn't always plan very well. And every time I crossed an item off the weekly list, I got a positive feeling: I was tangibly getting the job done. If you're not keeping this sort of list, what are you waiting for?
It you're not crossing items off your list each week, then it may mean you're either scheduling too much or that you need to apply more time management skills to prioritizing what you work on. In such cases, reprioritize your weekly list or even put in some extra hours to get caught up. You may even want to consider a training class in time management if you still feel lost. Either way you'll learn about your own capabilities by analyzing your own work habits (before somebody else does)