Did you have any idea that a whopping 82% of people don’t adhere to a dedicated time management system? Well, in an organizational ecosystem, every person is unique, and the time they take to work on different things also varies. However, how do you ensure they give their 100% and value your company’s time? While the best time-tracking software can always help, when it comes to time management everyone seems to have their own system. While some employees have an elaborate to-do list, others use sticky notes on their screens. As a project manager, what’s your strategy to keep everyone on track?
Time Management: The Great Dilemma
Regardless of the industry you are in and the business you run, it can always seem that people are busier than ever. In fact, according to a study by Reclaim, 23.4% of people feel their workload has increased after the Great Recession, and around 78.7% of people feel stressed at work. Although there can be a myriad of reasons for this, poor time management is one of the most evident and enormous reasons that cause stress in the workplace. In fact, Zapier reported that around 35% of individuals list time management as one of the most massive hurdles to their productivity.
How many times did you struggle with a last-minute client deadline in your organization and wish for a day to last longer? Let’s face it: we all have 24 hours a day, and there’s only so much time we can dedicate to work as well as other activities in a regular office setting. However, if you are keen to maximize the productivity quotient in your enterprise with time-tracking hacks, here are some tips that can help!
#1 Using a Time Tracking Software
We are not cavemen who have to write everything or etch everything they see to remember or track it. Technology has advanced the way organizations function now, and time-tracking applications are one of the boons that technology has bestowed upon businesses. In fact, by using the best time-tracking software, organizations can stay on the nerves of who’s working on what, how long it will take for project completion, and what’s the average productivity of an employee.
Many software programs have cutting-edge features like timecards that capture the real time spent by resources on project tasks and non-project work by leveraging a built-in timesheet application module. Businesses and project managers can get multiple options to fill timesheets imported using CSV and pre-filled automatically using scheduling data with an open REST API. You get color codes, easy identification and processing, configurable timesheet settings, dedicated time-tracking reports, and more.
#2 Focus on One Task at a Time
One of the most common mistakes businesses make is diving between different tasks in a single project or multiple projects. Especially for shorthanded companies, time management becomes gruesome because they use their best resources to juggle different tasks, and this hampers the quality of work and employee satisfaction.
Instead of multi-tasking, employees can focus on a single task, and project managers can allot work seamlessly with even workload distribution. In fact, when the workload distribution is orchestrated, employees can channel all their energy into one assignment, and this improves their overall performance.
#3 Determining Dependencies
Every project starts with a detailed blueprint that involves objectives, SWOT analysis, resource availability, and more. If you want a project to be completed within its deadline, try to organize the tasks in the form of a WBS or project management chart to visualize different tasks and sub-tasks. Once you have these activities listed, evaluate each one carefully and identify which tasks are interdependent on others to be completed.
For instance, if you are building a house, you can’t put the roof on until the frame is ready. Define these project dependencies, sequence your activities, and assign time to each task in terms of work hours, human resources, or due dates for an efficient workflow.
Conclusion
While most people say time changes things, the reality is that you actually have to change everything on your own. In an era that only gets busier, it is crucial to stay up-to-date with a system that prioritizes tasks and moves them from the “in progress” pile to the “completed” bucket. Gone are the days when conventional time management tactics, or micromanagement, helped organizations to get the most out of their employee potential.
Nowadays, if you micromanage your team, or get too nosy about the whereabouts of every employee in their 9-5 cubicle, it will just lead to employee dissatisfaction. Instead, TLs, project managers, and CEOs can chip in for the best time-tracking software and aid employees in segregating their time and prioritizing deliverables according to the highest priority.
