How to use project management tools to get the most out of your work week

According to a recent survey, COVID-19 accelerated the adoption of digital technologies and forced organisations to rethink how they operate.

With 4.3 million employees in the UK now under flexible working contracts, the need for businesses to invest in project management tools is more important than ever.

Project management tools allow you to manage every aspect of a project online, from conception to completion.

Here’s how you can utilise project management tools to ensure maximum efficiency.

Prioritise Tasks and Set Goals

At the start of each week, write a list of tasks and responsibilities that need to be completed – no matter how big or small.

Gather these in a project planning tool, like Monday.com, where you can use the Eisenhower Matrix framework to set each task’s priority level (urgent and important to non-urgent and important). You can prioritise based on timelines for completion and consider other restraints that can affect a project’s timeline.

Adding this to a tool shared within your team will allow you to foster project transparency from the start, create opportunities to delegate tasks and ensure deadlines are met.

Once you’ve prioritised tasks, you can use this to create daily and weekly goals that ensure you are managing your time effectively.

Book In Focus Time and Reduce Noise

According to a recent report, nearly three out of four workers feel distracted at work, with 16 percent saying they are almost always distracted.

Rather than set back project completion, use calendar functions to book in focus time, where you can work interrupted for a set period to complete a task.

While you might not be able to escape the human interaction of a busy office when working remotely, this will alert your colleagues that you’re busy and unable to jump on anything else during that time.

During these periods, switch off emails or communication tools like Slack, so messages can be left until you’re ready to focus on them.

Track Time

Tracking time spent on each work task may seem counterintuitive. But, on the contrary, most time-tracking tools have a reporting system that lets you review how long you spend on each activity and adjust timekeeping for future tasks.

Taking an objective look allows you to understand where your focus should mainly be to create a consistent and efficient workflow.

Create Reports

To check you’ve got the most out of your work week, cast an eye over project reports available to you within a tool like Smartsheet.

Here you should have a 360º overview of critical data in an easy-to-read format, so you can determine what steps to take next.

Benefits include the ability for you and your team to track the progress of a project, identify risks, manage costs, increase performance visibility, learn from mistakes, have control and drive overall project success.