For more life hacks and inspiration, visit Wining Wife!
Though the term itself sounds like something a corporate team tackles, task management is simply a method of calming the chaos you likely experience at work, home, and everywhere else. Adulthood involves multiple clashing responsibilities, but what if there was a way to streamline things the same way you do with work projects? As it turns out, there are many task management skills that translate to home and personal life, too.
Starting with a Schedule
No matter how organized you are, jotting down due dates and timelines for projects is a must. Looking at a long to-do list isn’t always a positive way to start the day, but there’s something to be said for knowing what to expect and tracking your progress. Using project management software to track dates and milestones in projects is another helpful way business owners stay on the rails, timeline-wise. Tools make collaboration easier if you have a team or partner who needs to be kept in the loop.
At home, you can use similar tools to collaborate on dinner plans, household chores, and homework schedules. As The Atlantic confirmed, many families rely on the “Slackification” of their households to keep everyone linked up and on schedule — and it works! Besides, scheduling date night on an actual calendar might just ensure you make it happen.
Timing Everything
Setting a timer might seem like a pointless exercise when you know you’re about to spend hours on a certain task. But knowing how much time you spend on each task or group of tasks can help you plan the next day’s or week’s work. Finding patterns in your habits will also shed light on where you spend time the most. In both business and other areas of your life, knowing what your capabilities are timewise can help you plan your workday, household tasks, and more.
Paying attention to your most productive times is another management tool that’s invaluable. You might have the most energy first thing in the morning — like most workers, says Ladders — so that may be the best time for your creative tasks. Or, if you’re a night owl, starting the big to-do list items late in the day could be just the ticket for business success.
Grouping Similar Tasks
Grouping similar to-do items — or batching — is one of the best task management hacks out there. By stacking things like answering emails or sending invoices, you ensure that each item receives the appropriate attention and everything is crossed off your to-do list in one fell swoop.
Plus, the reality is that multitasking is a myth: Research suggests that juggling multiple responsibilities at once makes you less effective in each area. “Task-switching,” says the American Psychological Association (APA), means more time per task — as much as 40 percent of your productive time.
The research is clear: Focusing on a single topic or project at a time helps you concentrate and get things done more efficiently. And the most efficient and productive business owners have realized that truth and adapted.
Mastering the Hand Off
Control freaks out there won’t like this one, but the savviest business owners know when it’s time to hand off things to an expert instead. You may be an expert, but there are only so many hours in a day. Recognizing when to step back and hand off tasks to another professional is a winning task management skill.
Trying to do everything on your own will only lead to burnout. Delegating some projects or duties to others frees up your time and expands your creative freedom, too. For example, scheduling appointments or answering emails might seem boring, but they’re necessities. Outsourcing to a virtual assistant might be the hack you need to get more done each day. Or, if you’re aiming to grow your business, enlisting the help of local SEO services can help you get discovered online and off.
You might not think that implementing Asana projects for your tweens or timing yourself while cleaning the bathroom would make a difference in your home life. But these task management strategies can help you get more done both in the office and at home. In fact, countless professionals are already doing it!
Photo via Pixabay
