As a busy professional you are always looking for better and more efficient ways to spend your valuable time. With many projects going on at once it is important to have efficient project management tools like task management to keep track of what needs to be completed.
1) Clarify your task
Setting your intention is one of the most important things to do before beginning any task. I like to ask myself: What bigger project does this relate to, what tools do I need to complete the task, will I need any other teammates, when is the deadline, and what’s the goal I’m trying to achieve? It is also important to get on the same page as anyone involved with the larger project. If your sales team has a goal of getting out 3 emails a week but you write your task out as “email prospects” things can get lost in translation. At this stage of staying on track, it is very important not to take shortcuts when providing good notation of your larger goal. You may find out hours, days, weeks, or even months that your project goals have shifted or been reassigned, and you do not want to disrupt your team’s workflow. Make everyone’s life easier by detailing as much information about the project and tasks that need to be completed as possible.
2) Categorize your task
Separate your tasks into different categories. It’s important to know how smaller tasks are connected and relate to your larger projects. Some contract lifecycle management systems like ALOE will allow customers to customize these categories based on departments or operations. This not only will make you a more organized employee, but your coworkers will thank you when searching for a ticket in your system. Categorizing tasks also makes it easier to pull necessary reports when requested or you’re looking for what needs to be completed by a specific date. I, personally, have found that just visually seeing the different buckets I can drop a task into also enhances my workflow and serves as a reminder of the different categories to stay up to date on. For example, you get so caught up in closing a deal and have focused on this single project that when you go to “create a task” you may be reminded of the several other categories you have not given attention to this week.
3) Know your deadlines
We’ve all been there; you have a big exam coming up on a Friday and you spent all Thursday night studying but not retaining any information. Keeping track of deadlines is similar, if you try to complete a task at the 11th hour: The quality goes down, you cannot get the assistance you need, it’s harder to reach out to others for help; you may make your deadline, but it won’t be pretty. Typically, most employees are juggling multiple projects and tasks simultaneously, and staying on track is impossible without knowing your deadlines. One solution may be to put all of your deadlines in your calendar but that can become overwhelming seeing a large to-do list. When we use ALOE Basic, there is a calendar option for those who prefer calendar-view but there is also Kanban-view which separates tasks vertically and shows the status of a task. If you sort your dashboard by the due date, it becomes a lot clearer how much time you have to complete the entirety of a project versus the supporting smaller task.
4) Micro Rewards
Once you’ve established your due date, you’ll be able to break up your task into smaller (and easier to complete) tasks that will keep you on track. If you’re someone who gets easily distracted, the “Micro Reward” method can also help you stay focused. Instead of waiting weeks or months to feel the gratification of completing your project breaking your project up into smaller tasks, you’ll begin to see the project come together. A study from Kansas State University, even recommends working for 30-45 minutes straight and then taking a 10–15-minute break to improve productivity. This same ideology can be applied to the Micro Reward method, focus on completing a few tasks, take a break, then get back into the rhythm.
5) Project Management Software
Breaking up your task can increase your productivity, but you still have to worry about where you’re documenting your process. Some employees use a word document, and some use an excel spreadsheet, at Bigfork Tech we use ALOE: Basic, project management software to stay on track. Using a project management tool like ALOE gives you and your coworkers’ security, ease of mind, and less need to micromanage. ALOE helps you keep track of tasks and see them with the entire project. You will be able to relate your task to the bigger picture better and see how your task affects other coworkers. ALOE also allows you to assign or reassign a task to someone else, if necessary. This has been an extremely useful tool with the rise of hybrid/remote work because it allows teams to collaborate and communicate when someone is unavailable or out of the office. There does not have to be a stop in workflow or delay in deadlines because assignments can be reassigned to the next available employee which drastically helps pipeline forecasting.
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