A process is a step by step approach you can use to outline your work. It’s easy to mistake a process for a milestone. Milestones are time restricted goals. For example, when writing a book, a milestone could be to complete the first draft of the book in four months. This is different from the process for writing each chapter, which might comprise a few steps. For example, the first step is to compile stories, evidence, and data; the second step is to organize each of those elements, etc. Any type of work can have a process like this. An engineer’s process, for instance, includes understanding the product requirements, building a fast mockup, and creating the data model, among others. Jerry Seinfeld, one of the top comedians of all time, has a process where he tries to write five jokes every day. His goal isn’t to write five funny jokes, just five jokes (whether they’re good or bad). Creating a process is not only about tactical performance. You can think of a process like a product that is continuously being improved. For example, when writing Primed to Perform, Lindsay and Neel adapted their process as they learned what did and did not work.
Fluency in this skill typically includes: