Being a project manager means that you’re constantly working through and balancing a lot of tasks. Since you have plenty of responsibilities, you want to make sure you’re as efficient as possible. To help you be as productive as you can be, here are nine productivity tips that you can follow:
Table of Contents
Make a To-Do List
When thinking of practical productivity tips, sometimes you need to look no further than the basics. This includes making a to-do list.
If you haven’t been making to-do lists yet, now is the time to start. A to-do list can do wonders for you to give you a good picture of the tasks on your plate for the day. Instead of having to scramble around in your head to figure out which jobs you haven’t done yet, a to-do list is there to keep you grounded and remind you.
Plus, it always feels good when you manage to check off one task on the to-do list. You can’t underestimate the mental load it takes to remember all of your tasks for the day all in your head. That’s why a to-do list, whether digital or physical, can be a massive weight taken off your mind without you even knowing.
Use Checklists for Workflow Management
You can also use checklists when you’re managing your workflow. Since project managers have a lot to oversee, it can be challenging to adequately go through the entire process without getting lost a bit.
Through experience, you can start creating a template checklist for each phase that the project you’re managing goes through. With a templated checklist, you can quickly go through each item on the list one by one to keep you on track. Plus, the mental load of not having to figure out and remember the next step will be a great help. You can also easily refer other team members to your checklist should there be a need for them to do so.
Use Integrated Tools
There are all sorts of tools nowadays that the modern workforce uses to improve their workflow. For many of us, relying on technology and software has become a regular and sometimes required part of our work. That’s because it makes us more efficient and the job gets done faster.
If you want to be a productive project manager, you have to ensure that you make life as convenient as possible, even when using tech for your job. One of the ways you can do that is by making sure that you have tools that have many integrations. For example, when you’re shopping around for potential project management tools, it would be a good idea to check for support integration. After all, you’re using other apps to help streamline your processes.
Choose an Efficient Task Management App
Aside from project management tools, some apps can help you be efficient with your work.
Some famous examples are Google suite, to-do apps, and social media scheduling apps. These apps can help you do your tasks either on your desktop or your phone. Thus, you can finish your tasks while on the go.
Follow the 4 Ds
For any task or item that reaches you, you can categorize them anywhere within the 4 Ds. These 4Ds are:
- Do it
- Delegate it
- Defer it
- Delete it
Before you start to buckle down and do whatever task lands on your desk, you first have to figure out which category it falls under. It makes it easier for you to muster the motivation to do it if it certainly needs doing. It is also easier for you to decide not to waste time worrying about something that doesn’t need your attention and time anyway.
Focus on One Thing at a Time
Multitasking is a productivity myth that we’ve believed in for far too long already. As a project manager, there’s usually a lot of things on your plate. Instead of thinking that you can eat it all at once and savor the flavor individually, learn to tackle it one piece at a time.
When you take on the tasks individually instead of doing them all at once, you can finish these tasks a lot faster. Aside from that, you aren’t stretching yourself thin trying to complete these tasks at once only to end up lowering the quality of your work in both. Since you finish your tasks faster, you’re going to be able to get through a lot of tasks on your to-do list with that.
Minimize Distraction by Blocking Time
When you’re in the groove and focused on a task, everything works out smoothly, and you get to finish the job at a faster rate. However, this requires you to make sure that you don’t make your brain switch to other tasks in between. For example, answering emails that you got as soon as you receive them while working on something else can disrupt your flow. That’s why you should make sure that you work on blocking out time for specific work tasks.
An example would be to dedicate an hour before and after lunch when you answer any messages, whether by email or social media. That way, you don’t feel compelled to do that in the middle of when you’re focused on a particular task.
Throw Stuff Away and Declutter
Decluttering and throwing away unnecessary items reduces the number of distractions around you. Aside from that, it makes your space look more professional, which can help motivate you to stay focused and do better at work.
Take a Break
Of course, you can’t expect yourself to be grinding and hustling at 100% of your mental and physical capacity at all times. When you’re doing that, you’re just a runaway train at this point that’s waiting to crash and crash hard. Therefore, you should make sure that you take your breaks. Aside from your lunch break, it would help if you also had shorter breaks between each task you managed to accomplish. You’ll find that these breaks that you take help you become more on point after.
The productivity tips listed above can help you become an efficient project manager. An efficient project manager is a productive one, which means that these tips can help you get many things done.
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Hi Gia & Anthony,
These are excellent productivity tips, and if applied correctly, one will surely improve ROIs. I also want to add that it’s vital to get help or recruit more people. Steve Jobs once said, “Great things in business are never done by one person. They’re done by a team of people,” so involve others in your projects. Also, write down a distraction-free list of tasks and focus on your top priorities. These activities and more will help improve productivity significantly!
Thank you for sharing!
Great points, Moss. I love the list idea. It’s great to find dedicated time for distraction-free, deep work. Focus in and get things done!