10 tips to better manage your tasks

To accomplish your projects or professional missions, you must carry out a succession of tasks, regardless of your hierarchical status. Business owner, manager or employee, completing tasks is part of daily life at work (but also at home). And the more effective you are in managing your tasks, the sooner you reach the goals set. In other words, better task management allows you to meet pre-defined deadlines and be more productive.

Instead of remembering your tasks in your head, or jotting them down quickly on a loose sheet or post-it note, and checking them off as you go (when you find the sheet), here are 10 tips to help you be more methodical and effective in managing your tasks. Associated with the use of project management software such as Wimi, these tips will allow you to be more efficient in managing your projects.

1. Make a list of your tasks

Here is a safe and effective method that has three benefits:

• you free your mind to better focus on the work at hand;
• this method is more reliable than your memory and you will no longer forget any tasks;
• you are aware of all the tasks to be done and you can better plan your work.

If in the past, we made lists on sheets or notebooks, today in the digital age, there are a multitude of applications and software to list your tasks. These tools allow you to visualize all of your tasks, and send you notifications and alerts when a task is nearing its due date or if you are late. You can also attach documents, images, and videos to your tasks.

2. Organize them in order of priority

Among all the tasks listed, some are secondary while others need to be completed as soon as possible to allow the project to progress. Start by identifying which tasks are secondary to important tasks, and then differentiate between what is important and what is urgent by using the Eisenhower matrix.

3. Divide an important task into sub-tasks

Some tasks are larger and more complex than others. Instead of trying to tackle them all at once, you should break them down into smaller and easier to do sub-tasks. This way, you'll be better able to understand the task and deal with it more confidently and effectively.

4. Define your tasks in time

To be effective in managing your tasks, it is important to give them a start date and an end date. Using a Gantt chart or project management software, you can visualize the due dates for your various tasks, which allows you to better manage your priorities.

Start dates let you know how much time is needed to complete a task, which will help you plan future projects more accurately.

5. Delegate

Avoid taking on more tasks than you can do. Overwork can affect your productivity as well as your mental health because you are putting unnecessary pressure and stress on yourself. It is therefore essential to learn to delegate.

Start by identifying your strengths and weaknesses, then define which tasks are your responsibility and which ones you can delegate because you do not have the required skills or the time needed to complete them.

Managing your tasks effectively also means knowing how to delegate them to the right person.

6. Work on one task at a time

Avoid multitasking. Contrary to popular belief, doing several things at the same time is not productive. In fact, our brain is unable to perform two activities simultaneously, so it switches from one to the other quickly, requiring a few seconds of adaptation. This process is called switching. So you're wasting time every time you change tasks, and changing regularly prevents you from fully focusing on the work you're doing. As a result, you decrease your attention and your efficiency. So it's best to focus on one task at a time until it's finished, then move on to a new task.

7. Start with the most difficult tasks

Generally, we are more productive at the start of the day. That's why it's best to tackle the most complex or difficult tasks as soon as you arrive at the office. Of course, it is not necessarily very motivating to start the day this way, but you will have a better ability to concentrate and more energy to complete these types of tasks more quickly.

Once you've completed the most strenuous tasks, you'll have a pleasant feeling of accomplishment, and the rest of the day's tasks will feel much easier and quicker to complete.

8. Do not change an ongoing task

It can be tempting to want to change or add additional elements to an ongoing task. Abstain! Adding new requirements to an ongoing task will change its initial duration. You will then have difficulty completing it on time, and this may cause a delay in the entire project.

9. Set your limit

It's impossible to complete a project in one day. To effectively manage your tasks and avoid unnecessary pressure and stress, you need to set a limit on how much you can do in one working day. Be realistic so that each task is completed with the same attention and the same quality of work.

10. Opt for project management software

It is the essential tool to improve your productivity and succeed in your projects. The majority of project management solutions are equipped with a task manager that allows you to manage online all the activities of your project, to leave comments, to communicate with members of your team, to associate all types of documents and to receive notifications and alerts to be informed of the progress of the project in real time.

Do not hesitate to test Wimi for free and without obligation to get your own idea.