How to Settle the Storm of the Workday

Whether you manage a team or are simply part of one, you probably recognize that time management is one of the biggest obstacles teams face when trying to complete a project. It’s a broad concept with many potential issues, ranging from simple procrastination among individuals to unclear tasks and objectives for the team. It’s important to set measurable goals and assign specific functions to complete a collaborative project. Here are some ways to make this a little easier.

Understand the Importance of Unity of Action

Most businesses have a mission or vision statements. The simpler and more specific they are, the easier it is for employees to get on board and stay goal focused. When this is working perfectly, it is known as “unity of action,” which simply means that everyone on the team and/or staff understands the goal and that all their actions contribute towards achieving it.

You may wonder how the unity of action relates to time management. Simply put, a team that understands their role in the process of achieving a specific goal will not have to waste time trying to guess what they’re supposed to do. It sounds very elementary, but many companies don’t recognize this. As a result, they sacrifice a great deal of productivity.

Develop a Strategy

Before unity of action can be achieved, management must determine their goals and figure out an efficient way to communicate them to staff. Once again, simpler is better. If a donut store can say, “We make great donuts and don’t waste material,” everyone on the team should be able to understand that goal as a strategy that they have a hand in implementing.

Assign Roles and Measurable Tasks

Once a strategy is in place, the next step towards achieving efficient time management and unity of action is to assign roles to team members, along with measurable tasks that they will be accountable for. Specificity and measurability are crucial. The broader and vaguer the tasks are, the easier it is for team members to not understand, and/or use that as an excuse not to act towards achieving them.

Keep Two “To-Do” Lists

It can be a helpful time management and strategy tool to keep two daily to-do lists. One should outline the short-term items that must be completed that day, while the other should list bigger picture goals. Take a moment at the start of the day to identify how the short-term tasks relate to the ultimate strategy.

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