Everyone likes to be on top of their schedule, no one likes to be running behind on work, and yet over half of the managers in the United States work consider their teams to be behind on day-to-day and week-to-week tasks that have been assigned to them.
When it comes to task management, there are a few simple truths, best practices, and some big mistakes to avoid when managing your work day.
The 3 Minute Rule
One of the best sayings of all time is “If you want to get something done, ask a busy person to do it.” Some of the busiest yet most successful people are the same people that follow the 3 minute rule. If something needs to be done, and it is going to take only three minutes or less, do it immediately. Do not put it off for anything within the next 180 seconds. If your boss needs to email him your client rundown from the past month, do that right away. If there is something that is going to take more time than your non-scheduled three minute task, find a way to put it in your busy schedule as soon as possible.
Use the Eisenhower Matrix
Do, Schedule, Delegate, Delete. The four basics of task and time management. When managing tasks or time, using the Eisenhower Matrix is one of the most effective tools. Whether we map it out in the squares or simply think about how to manage a new task that’s come across our desk, each of us use a version of this every day. Understand what is worth your time and what isn’t. If you want to learn more about how to use this simple yet powerful tool go to the following link:
Click here to learn more about the Eisenhower Matrix
Use Game Plan
One of the biggest reasons people struggle with day-to-day task management is not for a lack of effort, but rather for a lack of tools. You can use the Eisenhower Matrix, but sitting down and mapping out your tasks has never been ideal. Rather than having to use a notebook or a whiteboard, using an app that is conveniently placed inside of your smartphone is the easiest way to manage your work day. Sharing upcoming work with coworkers or having a view of your day and what is to come has never been so easy. Not only has Game Plan thought of every possible tool needed to effectively plan your day at work, but gone are the days of being frustrated by the non-intuitive user interfaces of clanky planning apps. This is all done thanks to the cutting-edge Assistive Engine, one of the core functions of the GamePlan App, which assists you in planning your day based on your priorities and schedule. If you would like to learn more about this amazing app you can go to the following link.
Click here to learn more about the GamePlan App
Start on Hard Tasks
One of the best ways to start your day, whether it be work of a day off, is to get the hard or stressful tasks out of the way immediately. Mark Cuban, one of the most successful Billionaires in the world today, starts each morning with an Email inbox purge. He has openly expressed how much this stresses him out and how much he hates doing this task, but when you start the day with the hardest task, everything else is smooth sailing for you. You may not have as much on your plate as Cuban, but working out, responding to your emails, or even simply making your bed forces you to start your day in great fashion.
Have a Routine
If your workday is somewhat consistent, forcing yourself to have a routine is a hidden gem in task management. Knowing that right when you clock in, you are calling your customers from the past week to check on their latest purchase, or whatever your first task is, makes each day that much easier. Having a routine eliminates the opportunity to slack off, procrastinate, and do much more throughout the day. If you know what time each task needs to get done each day and you know when its going to be your main focus, it gets easier and easier to get through to your regularly programmed schedule.
Set Deadlines
If you don’t set deadlines on each task, your workday will drag late into the evening. If you don’t tell yourself that ‘Project X’ needs to be done by 2 PM so you can get started on ‘Project Z’, you will let the first project take you until the end of the workday. Remember, work expands to fill the time we allow for its completion. So if you don’t create some boundaries, your work will just keep expanding to dominate your life. And unless you’re a work-crazed monster who doesn’t value personal relationships, you need to know when to separate work and your personal life. The best way to do that is to set deadlines, hard deadlines, on when you will be done working on a task, completed or not.
Take Breaks
It is important to prioritize taking breaks. The best way to get into a flow state is to take a 10 minute break for every 50 minutes of work. If 50 minutes of work is too short for you to feel like you’re being productive, 20 minutes off for every 90 minutes of work. However you slice it up, your brain will function better, you will feel more crisp and refreshed, and you will ultimately get more done in your focused working sessions. If you don’t allow yourself to take a few minutes to walk around, grab a drink, or even text some friends back, you’ll find yourself not being as effective as possible while working.
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When it comes to getting tasks completed, there is no shortage of tips and tricks that can be used to increase your productivity. You could spend half of your workday looking for the best practices, but the best advice anyone could give you is to put your head and down and do the work. Focus in on each task, give 100% energy to what is in front of you at the moment, and move quickly. Don’t allowing distractions while you work becomes a habit. The more you can get done each day, the more you will be rewarded in every aspect of your life.