Time management strategies are critical for ensuring that project tasks are completed efficiently and to a high standard. They play a vital role in project management by helping to allocate time and resources effectively, which in turn can lead to successful project completion and achievement of goals.
Widely-used Time Management Strategies
Time Audits
Conducting a time audit involves tracking everything you do for a week to determine where you are actually spending your time. With this data, you can make informed decisions to eliminate time-wasters or redistribute your efforts more effectively.
The Four D’s (Do, Defer, Delegate, Delete)
Similar to the Eisenhower Matrix, each task is immediately decided upon by:
- Doing it now.
- Deferring it for later.
- Delegating it to someone else.
- Deleting it if it's not important.
The Kanban Method
The Kanban method uses boards and cards to visualize tasks and their progress. It helps manage workflow and ensures that work-in-progress is kept to an optimal level, avoiding overloads.
250px|700px|reset
Eat That Frog
Based on the book by Brian Tracy, this strategy suggests that you should start your day with the most significant, challenging, and important task - your “frog”. It's built on the belief that getting the most daunting task out of the way first thing in the morning can make the rest of the day feel much more manageable.
Parkinson's Law
Parkinson's Law posits that work expands to fill the time available for its completion. Setting tighter deadlines can encourage focus and higher productivity due to increased urgency.
These strategies are not mutually exclusive. Combining different approaches can often yield the best results, as it allows individuals and teams to manage their time in a way that plays to their strengths and suits the nature of their work.
You may also be interested in this article!
How does Meegle help you with time management?
Meegle can be an excellent tool for managing time effectively within projects by incorporating various practices and leveraging its features.
Here's how you can use Meegle for time management:
Create Customized Views
Create personalized views for different teams or different periods to maintain clarity and focus on tasks relevant to each team.
250px|700px|reset
As you can see from the above image, it's super easy to create a requirements list filtered by a specific role's involvement, or create lists of requirements that are completed or in progress.
This can prevent scheduling conflicts and ensure resources are allocated without overlap.
Centralize Tasks and Reminders
Use Meegle's My Work feature to organize your dues, to-dos, and updates in your personalized space. This centralization cuts down on the time spent searching for project elements and enables the effective planning of day-to-day activities.
250px|700px|reset
Leverage Task Dependencies
The visualized workflow feature of Meegle clarifies the sequence of work and ensures that tasks must be completed before others are given the appropriate priority and timeframe.
250px|700px|reset
Visible Progress Tracking
Use the delay label and status tracking features of Meegle, to motivate teams and provide a clear visual representation of how much time they might need to allocate to complete tasks or to adjust their management strategy accordingly.
250px|700px|reset
By using Meegle's comprehensive features geared toward project management, teams can employ time management strategies that result in higher productivity, effective prioritization, and successful project outcomes.
