What do you do when you are dumped with stacks and stacks of documents? How do you take control of that flood of information so you can distill it into a sensible overview?

As a Project Manager, I depend on the input of dozens of specialized functional groups, each with their own jargon that I need to decipher and translate into meaningful points of reference on a map to get the “big picture.” They are very detailed and very specific. It’s a mistake to tackle it with the same level of granularity. You will feel completely helpless and exhausted if you try that maneuver. Instead you want to go the opposite direction: go real simple.

First: Get a roll of white butcher paper, one roll of masking tape, and about three colored felt pens. Tape large sheets of the butcher paper onto any free space you can find on your office walls.

Second: Print all the docs that were given to you. Your printer will probably go for an hour just churning out all the legal docs, requirements, memos, Statement of Works, specs, etc.

Third: Grab the top document from your freshly printed stack and doc by doc, page by page, read at fast clip. As you’re doing this, write all the questions that come to your mind somewhere on one of the wall charts. Summarize major points and facts onto the wall chart. Go back to earlier questions on the wall charts and mark the answers to them as you discover them.

Tip: Switch color felt pens so it is easy to see the different points you are putting all over the wall charts. Group thoughts by areas on the wall chart if you so desire, but don’t even do that if you find it is slowing you down.  Watch the clock so you can race yourself to the end of the stack. Sketch quickie charts & flow-paths if the mood strikes you, but keep moving.

Done! You now have the big picture.