It’s one of the greatest challenges in our fast moving world… You realize that you need to capture your tasks as a team and then, boom! Your lovely task manager software system clutters up.
Once you get past the hump of your team using the software you need to know how to manage the system. Keeping it clean, and the tasks flowing, is key to achieving results. This short article will share some ideas and also show you how PDCA Complete can help you to achieve this.
1. Create a routine
Whatever task manager software you use, you’ll need to create a routine. You need to systematically input the data and use it / review it.
From a housekeeping point of view this means that you need to take some time to skim the tasks. From this review you will likely find some tasks:
- You need to mark complete.
- That are no longer relevant.
- That others need to input on.
- That you need to delegate.
- With dates that need updating.
This is a habit that I recommend you form. Even five minutes once per week can help with this task, it isn’t onerous. But as it is a habit I would suggest that you make it a start of day task, one day in the week. Set a calendar reminder for yourself and see what you can achieve with a few minutes.
A clean task manager software tool is an effective one!
2. Have a clear focus
Ploughing through your tasks without a focus reduces your efficiency. If you have your mind set on a specific focus, clearing and completing tasks happens fast.
So, how do you dice up your tasks?
You can come up with your own list, or you can use one within your software program. For example, you could review task by date, owner, project or business area.
When we built PDCA Complete, we wanted to make this as easy as possible. The core of our system is a screen called My Tasks. This allows you to see every task that relates to you. My Tasks also has some built in filters to let you view the tasks in specific ways.
The filtered views include the tasks that:
- You have to complete.
- Need your approval.
- You can support.
- Were updated most recently.
- Are the highest priority.
Actually, there’s a lot more to My Tasks which you can learn about here.
Having a software tool to help you slice and dice the tasks improves focus and effectiveness.
3. Park and evaluate
If you aren’t ready to complete some of your tasks then you may want to take them off your list. Rather than deleting the task, you may be able to find a way to ‘park’ the task.
In PDCA Complete we have a couple of options that are great to use.
The first one is the Bucket. This function is a tool to help you evaluate opportunities and launch them when you find the time is right. If you have created some ad-hoc tasks within PDCA Complete then you have the option to convert them into bucket items. This removes them from your My Tasks view and puts them into the bucket (with its built in evaluation tools). Later on you can launch the task, when you have the time to work on the actions.
The second option is via Projects. If the tasks you want to pause relate to a project, you can change the status of the project. In simple terms, this clutches your tasks to a paused state. When you are ready, change the status and the tasks re-appear on the My Tasks page.
I’m sure you can think of additional ways to keep your task list clean. If you can keep it clean, and get a flow going with your tasks, you can accomplish great things at pace.
By the way, if you haven’t already claimed your free PDCA Complete account, then sign up here today.
