Our weekly Level 10 Meeting To-Do list is constantly clogged with vague, low-value action items like research, schedule a call, or look into this, which eats up our time during the review section and produces zero real progress. How do we define a valid weekly To-Do to eliminate this meeting waste?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Vague To-Dos are a breeding ground for operational drift and meeting waste. When you accept action items like "look into marketing ideas" or "research software," you are setting your team up for failure. These items are impossible to complete in seven days because they have no clear definition of done, leading to endless rollovers and wasted meeting time.

To eliminate this friction, the facilitator must enforce a strict standard for capturing To-Dos. Every weekly To-Do must be specific, actionable, and achievable within seven days.

A valid To-Do must start with an active verb and end with a measurable outcome. For example, instead of "research software," the To-Do should be "email three software vendors to request pricing sheets." Instead of "schedule a call," it should be "confirm calendar invitation sent to the client for Tuesday."

When a leader proposes a To-Do during IDS®, the facilitator must read it back to the team. If the outcome is not clear, the facilitator must push the owner of the To-Do to refine it.

Additionally, the owner of the To-Do must verbally agree to the commitment. If a leader cannot complete the action item within seven days because of travel or major projects, they should not accept it. It is better to break a large task into a smaller, seven-day bite than to accept a massive project that will inevitably roll over. By raising the bar for what qualifies as a To-Do, you will increase your team's completion rate and eliminate unproductive status checks.