Many people in the field of project management think that doing more and more as time goes on is a fact of life. In truth, the best project managers actually do less as time goes on because they become more efficient. This could be a matter of more knowledge, or it could represent knowing more professional secrets and shortcuts. Even inexperienced project managers can get ahead by using these five tips, which will help you accomplish more by doing less.
1: Create Multiple Project Timelines
When undertaking any professional project, you need to be able to know what all your deadlines are and when you need to complete each step toward your goal. The best way to do this is to create multiple timelines for each level of detail you need – a long-term timeline that lays out the project from beginning to end, then smaller-scale timelines that allow you to navigate weeks and months step-by-step. Effective project management software makes building these timelines easy and can even provide you with a visual guide.
2: Plan Work in 90-Minute Blocks
As a general biological rule, human beings can be extremely productive for 90 minutes at a time. After that, fatigue sets in and they start to have trouble focusing without some sort of break. If you plan your day so that you have 90-minute blocks of productivity followed by a short break, your level of efficiency will skyrocket. After you complete your 90-minute block, get a snack, take a walk, or do something else to recharge your batteries.
3: Schedule Email Time in Blocks
Email is one of the biggest time-wasters in an office environment. Every time somebody hears their email alert, they tend to drop what they’re doing to check the new message. This disrupts work flow and reduces efficiency. Instead of checking email constantly, schedule a few times during the day when you can check email in bulk. You’ll gain a lot of time back as a result.
4: Create a Visual Project Management Plan
Most project management plans are exhaustive documents that break down every step of the undertaking. This is good, but it also tends to get checked rarely by employees because it isn’t very engaging. Creating a presentation version of the plan that has visuals and a clearer layout gets more people checking it, thus keeping everybody on the same page. Once again, project management software can help in developing this visual map.
5: Cut Out Manual Tracking
Use solid project management software to automate as much as possible. By resorting to automation rather than relying on manual checklists and meetings, you keep everybody on the same page and reduce the amount of wasted time comparing notes. This speeds the process along and allows your project to run with much more efficiency than before.
Many of these hacks can be made more effective by using a good project management software like Celoxis. Whether you use the software or not, these hacks will allow you to get more done in less time.
