When we’re busy it’s easy to just get on with it. Start the task so that we can get it done, after all that will make us more productive won’t it?
Not necessarily. Planning when we will do a piece of work as well as how we will go about it can improve our efficiency and productivity.
Planning means;
1. When will I do the work – scheduling into the diary and marking time as busy.
2. Will it be done in one or several sessions – putting time in the diary over the next week or weeks.
3. Making sure that our colleagues can see the work as it is scheduled, so they know meetings are not possible for this time.
4. Planning the work work into our diary allowing for any interdependencies we may have for other people completing a part of the work for us to then pick up.
5. Taking into account how long we think a task will take then adding 20 to 50% more time just in case.
Planning every piece of major work in a project can help us to become more efficient in the long term.
Planning work – top tip