Project Time Management | Best Way to Manage Time

In life, time management is something that is very important. Maybe, even essential. Time moves fast, and if you don’t pay attention, it just slips right past your fingers. We often find it hard to juggle everything and often compromise ‘my time’, which is equally important. What you need is a systematic approach. 

What is Time Management?

In simple words, it is time we divide for each activity that we do. We do so to maximize our productivity and not let the work burden us. When the stress is less, we are more efficient, and the work gets done faster. Working sometimes becomes difficult, but by being aware of your responsibilities and skills, that difficulty can become a boon. There is also the factor of your adaptability and flexibility.

In the corporate world, a flexible person is the one who survives till the end. Being stuck up in your ways can limit a person’s growth process. Changing according to the situation is what makes people time efficient.

A lot of things can throw you off your schedule. What comes in handy at that time is your skill to manage every hitch that comes your way. This is why project time management is crucial for a productive outcome. 

10 Best Practices for Project Time Management

It is rather simple to acquire these time management skills. With simple tricks and techniques, you might be able to make a routine that fits you the best.

1. Analysis

The first step is to analyze what is on your plate. Sometimes our estimate for a task is completely wrong. It is just like saying, “I will be there in 2 minutes.”. Let’s take the example that you have to write a work email. You have made up that it won’t take long in your head, and you will be done in 5 minutes.

But in reality, you don’t just have to write the mail. You have to review it, check the language, and then send it forward. Now, this slight miscalculation can throw you off your entire schedule for the day. 

Let us assume that you have the same problem with a lot of tasks. The workload keeps piling up, and you are still stuck on the work email that you had to send an hour ago. You’re irritated and more stressed than before. 

This is why it is necessary to analyze and time your tasks. Project time management asks you to look over what you have done the entire week and then evaluate. With the data now available to you, you will have an idea of which task takes more time, and you will be able to set more realistic goals.

Set deadlines for tasks and assign them to your team. You can even monitor and review their performance. PeppyBiz makes all of this very easy. PeppyBiz also has tools that help you figure out where you are going in terms of your project. This helps you figure out what needs to be done and helps in better planning of future tasks. 

2. SMART Goals

The word ‘SMART’ here is an abbreviation and is used quite a lot in the corporate world.

S – Specific

M – Measurable

A – Achievable

R – Realistic

T – Timely

1. Smart: The goals you set for yourself have to be specific. This involves the 5 ‘W’ questions. What is your goal, when to achieve, where to achieve, who is involved, why to achieve? All these questions will help you understand more about the task.
   
   
2. Measurable: It is also necessary to measure your progress in the given task. If you don’t measure, there will be no improvement. You will have no idea where you are lacking and will not move further from the problem.
   
   
3. Achievable: Having a goal is one thing and making it achievable is another. A task should be attainable. Ask yourself will you be able to achieve this goal with the given resources or cannot.
   
   
4. Realistic: A goal can only be achieved if it is realistic. Keeping all the details in mind, a goal that you have set for yourself should be one that you can achieve.
   
   
5. Timely: you must time your goal. It must have a start to finish date. Without a date, the whole point of achieving a goal is zero. Setting a time limit to your goal is mandatory. Timing your project is very important. Sometimes you even have to alter the timings or the deadlines according to the workflow. 

With PeppyBiz, you can make Gantt charts and be more time-specific. When you use our Timesheets, you can see how much time you have spent on one project. This makes analysis of the time much easier.

3. Prioritizing and making a list

Giving priority to vital tasks is important. Not just that, there are a few tasks that are more time-consuming than others. Project time management will help you decide what needs to be done before. But at the end of the day, it is your decision, if you want to do the little tasks first or the bigger ones.

 Also, having a to-do list will help you decide what needs to be done first. But make sure you keep it simple. This will also help you decide how much time you have for yourself. ‘Me time’ is essential to keep the motivation going. Not just that, you need to spend time with your friends and family as well. Humans are social beings, and staying connected to your loved ones will definitely make you happy. 

With the Kanban boards, you can even make the to-do list of the project and divide it into small doable tasks. The employees can see that a task has been done, which keeps them motivated to do more. 

4. Utilize Sunday for productive things

Sometimes lazing around can be refreshing. But not always. Sometimes your entire day will slip past your fingers, and you wouldn’t even have the faintest idea of what happened. To make your day more productive, you can delegate your tasks on Sunday. In project time management, it is important that you make a to-do list.

This will not only remove the ‘blue’ feeling of the weekend but also set gears for the upcoming dreaded Monday. This way, you will be able to see what you need to do the entire week and would remove unnecessary stress from tasks. 

The calendar view allows you to see your deadlines and make a list of the projects that you have to do. With the use of our multiple calendar views, you can never miss a deadline.

5. The golden hour of the brain

Do you know there is a golden hour in your brain? It is the time of the day when you are more productive than the rest. Your peak productive hours. In the evenings, you might feel lazy thinking that it is time to go home and be more motivated in the morning when you feel like you can finish all the work on time. It can be different for everyone.

Analyze what time you are your most productive self and take advantage of that time. You can keep your bigger tasks for this time and complete the easier and more little ones around this time. This will increase your task completion chart to its max.

6. Multitasking should not be done

Avoid multitasking. Doing more than you can handle and taking more tasks than you can do is something you should avoid at all costs. You instantly become more productive when all your focus is on one thing, and your mind isn’t running 100 miles an hour trying to complete everything at once.

This also reduces pressure, which makes you more creative in handling and dealing with complicated problems. And the bottom line always should be, choosing quality over quantity.

7. Take a break

Making a list and completing everything isn’t the only thing. In between tasks, take a break. If you continuously for a long time, your productivity levels start going down. Relax and do something that you like. Restart your brain and get back to work. But don’t lose focus.

8. Project time management apps

The internet has a solution for everything. Try project time management application. Delegate time given for a task and update it in the application, and it will remind you of every task. It will also inform you if you’re behind.
It might be a little irritating at the start, but it will improve your output as it will allow you to check the level of progress. By doing this, you will know where you stand. It will also help your brain switch to work mode once it gets used to the timer. 

With PeppyBiz, you can do so many things that will help you in project time management. You can use the ‘Notes’ tool, which helps you note down complex details of the project and also share it with all the team members very conveniently.

With the ‘Email-in’ tool, you can automatically save your inputs in PeppyBiz. You will not have to search for them, and it makes things easier and less complicated. 

9. Declutter your environment

When we see too many things, we get distracted. Try to declutter your environment. Close too many open tabs on your laptop, remove the incomplete files from your desk. Keep the empty coffee mug away. Organize your email. Gmail also offers a variety of features to organize your email.

You can also jot down the time when you need to look at your email. You can archive the mail, which is important but doesn’t need to be looked at right away. When you organize your bottomless pit of mail, it will give you an immense sense of satisfaction and will help you clear your mind while managing your time.

Taking in just the task and the task at hand alone is important. Don’t let too much information enter your brain. This will result in distractions, and you will lose time. Segregating your files is important; the more cluttered your environment, the more cluttered your brain.

With PeppyBiz’s files and document segregation, you can sort through your files and also keep them in just one place. This will save you a lot of time, and you won’t have to search through your computer for the files. 

10. At the end of a task, there is a bonus

One way to keep yourself motivated is by rewarding yourself. You don’t need to do that after every task, but maybe while taking a break. It can be anything, checking your phone, scrolling through Instagram, sending dog gifs to your friends, or maybe going for a cookie. While the satisfaction after completing a task is immense, it is just a cherry on top when you reward yourself.

Conclusion

Project time management is important if you want to be productive. Life can be stressful, and these simple tasks can make it easier. The best is to stay focused and motivated.

Obsessing over finishing the checklist won’t do any good. It causes you to stress even more, and the whole point of time management stands redundant. With PeppyBiz project management software, time management becomes very easy. You can project your thoughts into strategies and make use of the software.