Work on the problem, not the to-do list.

Problematic keeps a problem in one place: why it matters, what a good enough result looks like, the questions that tell you whether a solution actually works, and the one step you have chosen to take next. Tasks come and go. The problem stays clear.

One problem, from start to finish

New starters cannot finish their first task without asking for help

Why it matters: Every question interrupts someone, and each starter learns a slightly different version of the process.
Resolved when: A representative new starter completes the task on their own.
Questions the solution must answer: Was the trial representative of an actual new starter?
Answer recorded · No. The participant helped write the guidance, so the trial does not show what a newcomer can do.
Current approach: Write clearer guidance.
Run the task with someone who has never seen the process, then revise the guidance from what they get stuck on.
Next step: Ask the next starter to do the task while I watch and take notes.

The evidence changed the approach before another week went into rewriting the guidance. A negative answer is still an answer: it is recorded, not graded, and the problem stays open until you say why it is solved.

Start with your own words

Ordinary tasks go in as they are and finish with one tick. A problem is one line, a question or a statement, with why it matters underneath.

Choose one next step

Keep possible steps, choose the next one on purpose, and record what you observe when it is done.

Judge the solution honestly

Write the questions a solution must answer. Answer them directly, or investigate one as a problem of its own.