Project Management: How to Accomplish and Organize Tasks (pt.2)
Before reading this post, check part 1 of the series: Project Management — a Productivity System.After reading this post, check part 3 of the series:
Project Management — Notion Set Up
You have a stack of organised projects — they have been brainstormed, created and sorted. A well-established system is in place, comprising your personal and professional commitments. You have all the pieces to collaborate and delegate within your company, side-hustle or fitness project. Except one...
Task Management — the way to get projects completed by the deadline. It will help you track dozens of tasks, set up deadlines for each and assign people to work while all is connected to the main project. Seriously, this is the holy grail of productivity.
See, project management is a crucial component of one's life. However, if you don't combine project management with task management, you can have all your projects perfectly structured without any of them moving forward. Thus, project management, by itself, is not enough.
The 5 Principles of Task Management:
These principles are the foundation for creating, maintaining and succeeding with a task management system. They can be the difference between thriving in a project or letting it expire.
#1 Tasks should always be part of an ongoing project
Each task must belong to a specific project — "creating a meal plan" belongs to the project of "losing 2 kilos" and "getting data on the oil industry in the USA" belongs to the project of "delivering a report on the US oil market". The key is matching tasks with projects.
When you don't follow this principle, you lose in two ways:
You end up with two systems that do not complement each other and function in separate ways;
You risk having a to-do list rather than a system.
#2 Tasks must be specific
Every time you create a task, ask yourself:
Is this task clear?
Is this task measurable?
If the answer to both questions is yes, you are doing it right.
For example, let's say you are responsible for contacting different companies, and one of the tasks you must perform is sending emails to those same companies. An example of a poorly done task would be "send emails". This might be clear for you at the moment, but it is not measurable. How many emails should you send?
#3 Tasks must have a deadline
The key to making progress in ongoing projects is giving each task a deadline and working towards it daily. This is precisely what will turn ambition into reality:
Creating the necessary tasks for accomplishing a project;
Attributing them a deadline;
Getting them done.
If you struggle with making progress in your goals, you only need to implement this framework to see your achievements pilling up.
#4 Tasks must be a priority
I've expressed my concern with solemnly relying on to-do lists to manage tasks. You are setting up a list of random items and calling it a day when most of them are accomplished.
A to-do list has two main flaws:
It is, by default, disorganised
It does not differentiate value-adding activities from random time-filling tasks.
For this reason, one of the principles I believe to be crucial for task management is ensuring that you know which tasks are a priority.
#5 Tasks must be accomplished
Some people are perfect planners. They use dozens of apps, countless fancy planners and are always up-to-date on the latest product innovations. There is nothing wrong with that approach... unless your plans never leave the plan.
You can have the best system, but don't expect results if you don't accomplish the tasks you planned. The question that proves the efficacy of your system is always the same — are tasks being accomplished?
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How to Implement a Task Management System
List: Look at the projects you are working on and create the required tasks for each of them. For example, delivering a report to a client might require research, contacting different companies, writing the report, proofreading, and so on. Each one of these is a task that should be performed in order to complete the main project.
Timing: After having all the required tasks created, give each one of them a deadline. Setting up deadlines is the key to achieving your goals and priorities… on time.
Assign: Take a final look at each of the tasks and assign them to the responsible. This step is crucial when working with others.
Common Mistakes in Task Management
To-do Lists ≠ Task Management
Although I use to-do lists often, a task management system is not about creating a 10-item random to-do list that includes watering your plants, writing a book chapter and taking out the trash.
Instead, a task management system requires tasks to be allocated to a specific project and ordered by priority rather than randomly. This will contribute to higher productivity levels and help you see the bigger picture when working on a long-term project.
Resisting Change
The main reason for creating a project and task management system is to achieve your goals and highest priorities. Thus, everything standing in the way of that outcome should be eliminated. If a particular task no longer fits or contributes to completing a project, you should not even ponder its accomplishment — simply eliminate it or adapt it.
However, one common mistake people make is wasting time finishing a task because 'it was already in the system'. Forget the system for a moment. And remember that it only exists to serve you. You want to make progress. And so, if something is standing in the way - eliminate it.
Too detailed tasks
It was previously discussed the importance of making your tasks specific — and that still applies. However, there is always a trade-off between creating super detailed tasks and simply getting them one. For example, why would you spend 3 minutes detailing a task that takes you 15 minutes to complete?
You should strive for the perfect balance, in which you know precisely the task you must complete and how to measure it, without wasting precious time in minor detail.
Read part 1 of the series:
Project Management — a Productivity System.Read part 3 of the series:
Project Management — Notion Set Up