Why plan your work

If you have more than three items on your to-do list for today, then what you think you can achieve, versus what you can actually do, are probably misaligned. Stick to the rule of three. We should also rethink how we write our lists says Jandra Sutton, founder of creative agency The Wildest Co , who thinks we all have a tendency to hide work by oversimplifying time-consuming tasks.

For me, the process also involves coming up with an idea, doing a brief outline, editing it, uploading it, checking SEO, etc. All of those tasks should be accounted for on your task list if you want to get a true sense of your productivity levels and workflow. The humble calendar app is one of the most under-used and widely-available planning tools out there. Beyond bringing your to-do list to life, it can change the way you view your time.

No longer does it stretch out in front of you, the limitations of the working day are right there, in black and white or whatever colors you fancy customizing your calendar with.

Using your calendar as your daily planner can also be a revealing exercise. It suddenly becomes much easier to see, at a glance, what tasks repeat most often in a given month. This can help you make a judgment call on what tasks could be automated with apps, such as logging expenses, and what could be delegated to someone else, such as research. No one could accuse Patrick Frank, founder of venture-backed healthcare startup Rightdevice , of not respecting time.

First, he plans his day down to the minute. Frank uses his Google Calendar, Siri and an alarm to keep him on track. You also need to be able to achieve the goal. Each of these steps should be specific and measurable so that every member of the team can tell when they have been achieved. If the steps are too large or too variable it can be difficult to determine if that step is complete and if the next team or individual can get started on their steps to move the project forward.

Take a look at each of the different steps that need to be done for your ultimate goal to come to fruition. Finally, take a look at the team you have at your disposal to assign these tasks to. What are their strengths? Where would they be able to help push the project forward? Which tasks would each member excel at the most? After all, they have as long as they want, right?

These charts allow you to set to-dos and see who is following the plan and the schedule. You should also be able to immediately make changes to the process, the people involved or the steps involved if you find this to be the case.

Even more important, you can see where people are getting off track or not pulling their weight. They may not need to work directly together all the time, but they probably have at least a few stages of the project that they need to communicate about.

This allows the project to stay on task and allows each of your team to interact with one another positively, face to face. You should also not be afraid to ask for help or clarification in understanding some aspects of the work plan and project.

Lately, innovations in technology have made tracking working time fairly easy. It enables you to see if you have over-allocated or under-allocated time to your tasks. Technology makes life better. With the help of time tracking software, you can record your overall work process and get the real picture of how you spend your time. This is essential for the all-around health and productivity of the business.

Organizing your working time can significantly reduce the risk of work stress and strain at work. A healthy working environment means a better approach to work.

Correspondingly, everyone will be motivated to follow suit, work better, to yield productive results. You can now focus on the completion of tasks rather than the organization. When you know that all your tasks have been planned with time tracking software , you will no longer have to remember everything or fret over trivial details.

You can rely on your work plan. As we have already pointed out, by having your tasks all planned out, you better understand what tasks you are expected to do and how urgent. This is essentially a good thing in that it minimizes fuzzy thinking. Planning your working time also clarifies your key objectives, helps you dig deeper, and identify what it really is that you are looking to achieve. It helps you answer the who, what, why, how, and when questions about your business in simpler terms.