Open-Item Tracker

If you keep only one tool, keep this one. It’s the single source of truth for everything that’s open, who owns it, and what happens next. A Google Sheet, Notion table, or project board all work — use the simplest tool your team will actually keep current.

What it’s for

A compressed move generates dozens of loose ends across many workstreams. They arrive by email, Slack, hallway, and text. The tracker is where they all land so none of them quietly become a move-day surprise.

If an item doesn’t have an owner, it comes back to you by default. Assigning an owner is how you protect your time.

How to use it

1. One tracker, one owner of the tracker. Someone keeps it clean.
2. Every open item gets a row the moment it appears — before it disappears into a thread.
3. Every row has an owner and a next action. No orphans.
4. Review it at the daily standup — sort by blocker, then by due date.
5. Filter to opening-critical when time gets tight (see Minimum Viable Opening).

The structure

Copy these columns into your sheet:

Workstream	Item	Owner	Due date	Status	Blocker	Next action	Decision needed
Building	Submit mover COI to PM	A. Lee	Jun 6	In progress	Need mover’s insurer info	Email mover for COI today	—
IT/AV	Confirm internet circuit live date	J. Park	Jun 9	Blocked	ISP hasn’t confirmed	Escalate to ISP rep	Approve rush fee?
FF&E	Reserve freight elevator for install	A. Lee	Jun 5	Not started	—	Call PM to book window	—

Status values: Not started · In progress · Blocked · Done.

Tips

• Blocked is the most important column. Blocked items are where openings slip — surface them loudly and daily.
• “Decision needed” is your escalation queue. Anything there should appear in your Weekly Status Update.
• Don’t delete done items — mark them Done so you keep the history.
• Group by Workstream so you can hand a clean slice to each owner.