Productivity in the workplace is identified as getting the most done, in the least amount of time, while using the fewest resources possible. With only so many hours in the workday, what’s the best way to hit this trio of targets?
Here are the 3 secrets that managers who feel like there’s never enough time use to get ahead of the ever-ticking clock.
Get more done through delegation
The best performers in business can’t do it alone – even if they manage to keep all their various tasks, research and communication “in the air” for a while, sooner or later they burn out. Delegation isn’t just good for the mental well-being of top executives, either. It simply helps companies get more done. Forbes suggests four steps for effective delegation to the uninitiated: clearly define your expectations, get over your own fears of delegation, trust the individuals that you delegate tasks to, and delegate habitually until it feels like second nature.
If you’re not sure which tasks should be delegated, and which should stay on your desk, try breaking down tasks using an Eisenhower Matrix. This strategy helps your quickly identify which tasks demand your skill set, and which can be handed off to other team members.
For more expert advice, check out this strategy by Daniel Shapero of LinkedIn.
Establish the “pool” of time that your team realistically has to draw from
For some employees, particularly creative staff, blocks of uninterrupted productive time are crucial. Making sure team members have enough focused time during the day to accomplish both work that involves deep thought, and quicker tasks, is essential to sticking to a project timeline. Make sure there is both a clear understanding of when a task must be finished by, as well as an understanding of how long that task will actually take to accomplish. Then, try working backward from the due date in order to set a start date.
What’s more, be as realistic as possible when setting up project and task timelines. Some of us are inclined to make gross over-estimations of how much we can do in the day, when the fact of the matter is, there simply is never enough time to finish our whole to-do list. As CIO’s Jennifer Lonoff Schiff explains, overestimating your available completion time sets the whole workflow off the rails; important milestones won’t be met if the time pool is overtaxed.
One potential solution to this timeline estimation is the use a tool that builds a project timeline for you. Tools like these analyze your task start and end dates and built the timeline for you. This way, you don’t have to work backward to fit tasks into a predetermined timeline, rather, the timeline shifts as you shift your estimates of how long the work will take you.
Properly prioritize to prevent tasks from stealing valuable time
In schools and colleges, many students do poorly on tests because they fixate on a particularly difficult problem and accidentally run out the clock attempting to solve it, leaving the others blank. Hitting a “roadblock” like this may bug you enough to want to tackle it, but always consider the best place to spend your effort.
Chances are, obsessively examining that problem won’t solve it. Rather, working on smaller “sure bet” tasks and getting them finished can help you clear your mind in order to approach your roadblock with a fresh perspective and clear it once and for all. In these situations, prioritization is exceptionally important. If you you can’t fix or interact with the important items on your to-do list now, you don’t stand much of a chance at tackling smaller tasks later. If you’re looking for a tool to help you and your team determine high-priority tasks and collaborate to knock them off your list, Priority Matrix can be your digital right hand man.
Don’t let the clock stress you out or impact the quality of your work; just use these three steps to stay ahead of the game and on schedule, literally!