Workshare: Workdays & Tracking Maintenance Tasks

One of the challenges of managing a community is how to track all the tiny maintenance tasks that are not ongoing. Ongoing tasks can be assumed by one person who takes responsibility for doing them when they need to be done. Responsibility for large one-time tasks can be assumed by a temporary team. For example, completing a short walkway from a parking lot to a gate, working a few hours on three Saturdays.

But for the small things or the tasks that only need to be done a few times a year, regularly scheduled workdays have proved the most successful. At Takoma Village, we schedule a workday from 9:00 to 4:00, including a simple lunch, every two months, alternating between Saturdays and Sundays. One in the fall and one in the spring are focused on the grounds. This has been a wonderful way to get work done and for many adults and children to contribute to the community.

People who like working with a big group find workdays more enjoyable because the place is hopping. People who can't handle another responsibility can take whatever no-brainer task needs to be done. No anxiety. No scheduling. Just show up. Children can work together or alongside an adult who is not a parent reminding them to do work.

Organizing the work was a challenge, however, until a list person showed up. She keeps track of maintenance tasks that need to be done occasionally and repairs that residents send to her by email. She has organized a small group that walks the property inspecting things to see what needs to be done. And has people who purchase supplies in advance.

For the workday, she prints out a chart of tasks, describes briefly what needs to be done, and who to ask for help or who is organizing. One of our members, usually someone who is disabled and can't do other work (broken ankle, uses a wheelchair, has a baby too young for childcare, etc.) sits at a dining room table with the list to help people choose tasks and mark them off as they are completed, making notes about any problems or further work needed.

Using the same chart, she reports the successes to the membership the following week and notes which tasks are undone and need a doer. I attached a copy of a sample report so you can see what kinds of tasks were completed on a recent workday. Fred Olsen, who founded and moderates the Cohousing-L email list, has posted an example that can be viewed, and copied and pasted:

http://l.cohousing.org/workday.htm

Each community organizes themselves using the people resources it has. We have a task organizer who is a super detail person who lives by lists. It has made workdays very productive for everyone. No wandering around looking for something to do or looking for people to help you do something. No tasks are left undone without being recorded as undone. And on a daily basis, we know who to tell when a door knob is not working.