The art of having conversations at different levels

Collaborative Checkins is a systematic method to occasionally review loose ends and identify which ones to follow up and which ones to resolve.

Conversations at different levels

You may be familiar with GTD's Horizons of Focus model.

Notion lets you have conversations in different pages which potentially are conversations at different "horizons" to borrow from the analogy in GTD.

We often speak to each other at different levels: one day we might have a conversation around specific topics (eg. health) and another day, we might focus on the bigger picture and have a conversation with someone around the meaning of life. For some of us, we might only have these strategic types of conversations once a year or while on vacation to reflect and orient ourselves.

So it can help to suspend old habits around “inbox zero” and move towards:

  1. responding to conversations when they are relevant and
  2. starting conversations at the appropriate “scope” by going to the appropriate page and having the discussion there.

Collaborative Checkins are essential to keeping collaborative spaces tidy.

see also Digital Gardening