5 Task Management Tips to Increase Your Productivity

Posted on April 29, 2021 by Jonathan Kidd

Mastering the art of task management may seem like Thanos waiting to strike but hey, it’s not all that scary.

How great would it be if you closed each workday with a satisfied sigh – having accomplished every task you had planned for the day!

But not every day is this perfect. Some days you end up slouched and tired with a few tasks stashed away to be done the next day. It takes a lot of effort to strike off all the things on your To-Do list every day.

If you’ve found that you aren’t being productive with the way you work, you can change it. It is easier and tempting to dawdle through your days, but don’t fall prey to it. You don’t want to lose the time that could have been used towards achieving your goal.

So, leave your troubles in the past and start with these simple task management tips:

1. Always Be Prepared

The first thing to do when planning tasks ahead is to proactively plan all the possible scenarios. A few things to plan are:

Use Kanban to get complete visibility into processes and daily operations using a simple To-Do, Doing, Done board. Besides providing a quick bird’s eye view of all the organisational tasks, it helps management teams identify and resolve bottlenecks then and there, making employees more efficient, and bringing in more transparency in the organisation.

If you’re new to Kanban, you can explore our easy step-by-step guide to kickstart your Kanban journey:

GET YOUR COPY

3. Break Down Large Tasks

A complex task at hand can look and seem like something hard to pull off. But with adept task management – this humongous task can be broken down and divided among teams as smaller chunks.

Then teams get a bigger sense of pride and achievement as they see the accomplished task move to the Done board. Don’t underestimate the power of this!

4. Stop Multitasking

Research has proven that multitasking is a productivity killer. A study done by the University of Sussex in the UK found that multitasking may physically harm the brain. So, stop trying to do everything at once.

Taking it one task at a time and giving it your best shot improves both efficiency and productivity.

5. Delegate It Right

For most managers, the art of perfecting delegation is like making a polar bear swim! Just like a polar bear plunges into the water enthusiastically but comes out just as fast – because most managers think it’s extra effort having to complete their work and manage someone else’s so it’s easier said than done.

But delegating work right directly impacts productivity. It leaves managers with more time to focus on their imminent tasks rather than trying to juggle too many things themselves.

The key is to delegate the job to the right person who has both the skills and the trust that will get the job done. This takes some time to master, but once mastered, letting go brings in the best results.

Relevant reading: 7 Tips on Effective Task Delegation

Traversing through the humdrum of daily work can seem difficult. But when work is done smarter, it doesn’t seem all that hard. Setting the right routines and concrete plans can do the trick. As does effective planning and thus, efficient task management.

Do you plan things and does everything go as planned and in the right way?