Many of these tools are free. Several are designed from the system outlined in Getting Things Done by productivity guru David Allen. Others are focused on the collaborative needs of teamwork. Find one to fit your needs, and then get things done. 14 Online Task-Management Tools. A task management site with real-time collaboration tools.
Trello, Informant, and Todoist are probably your best bets out of the 25 options considered. 'Works well for visual thinkers' is the primary reason people pick Trello over the competition. This page is powered by a knowledgeable community that helps you make an informed decision. Top 10 Effective Task Management Tips. Make To-do Lists. To-do lists are classic, yet powerful and effective more than ever today. Back in the day, people kept handwritten notes for ideas and things to get done. They are like your everyday essentials and add to your effective task management tips.
A manager’s primary challenge is to solve problems creatively. While drawing from a variety of academic disciplines, and to help managers respond to the challenge of creative problem solving, principles of management have long been categorized into the four major functions of planning, organizing, leading, and controlling (the P-O-L-C framework). The four functions, summarized in the P-O-L-C figure, are actually highly integrated when carried out in the day-to-day realities of running an organization. Therefore, you should not get caught up in trying to analyze and understand a complete, clear rationale for categorizing skills and practices that compose the whole of the P-O-L-C framework.
It is important to note that this framework is not without criticism. Specifically, these criticisms stem from the observation that the P-O-L-C functions might be ideal but that they do not accurately depict the day-to-day actions of actual managers (Mintzberg, 1973; Lamond, 2004). The typical day in the life of a manager at any level can be fragmented and hectic, with the constant threat of having priorities dictated by the law of the trivial many and important few (i.e., the 80/20 rule). However, the general conclusion seems to be that the P-O-L-C functions of management still provide a very useful way of classifying the activities managers engage in as they attempt to achieve organizational goals (Lamond, 2004).
Planning is the function of management that involves setting objectives and determining a course of action for achieving those objectives. Planning requires that managers be aware of environmental conditions facing their organization and forecast future conditions. It also requires that managers be good decision makers.
Planning is a process consisting of several steps. The process begins with environmental scanning which simply means that planners must be aware of the critical contingencies facing their organization in terms of economic conditions, their competitors, and their customers. Planners must then attempt to forecast future conditions. These forecasts form the basis for planning.
Planners must establish objectives, which are statements of what needs to be achieved and when. Planners must then identify alternative courses of action for achieving objectives. After evaluating the various alternatives, planners must make decisions about the best courses of action for achieving objectives. They must then formulate necessary steps and ensure effective implementation of plans. Finally, planners must constantly evaluate the success of their plans and take corrective action when necessary.
There are many different types of plans and planning.
Strategic planning involves analyzing competitive opportunities and threats, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of the organization, and then determining how to position the organization to compete effectively in their environment. Strategic planning has a long time frame, often three years or more. Strategic planning generally includes the entire organization and includes formulation of objectives. Strategic planning is often based on the organization’s mission, which is its fundamental reason for existence. An organization’s top management most often conducts strategic planning.
Tactical planning is intermediate-range (one to three years) planning that is designed to develop relatively concrete and specific means to implement the strategic plan. Middle-level managers often engage in tactical planning.
Operational planning generally assumes the existence of organization-wide or subunit goals and objectives and specifies ways to achieve them. Operational planning is short-range (less than a year) planning that is designed to develop specific action steps that support the strategic and tactical plans.
Organizing is the function of management that involves developing an organizational structure and allocating human resources to ensure the accomplishment of objectives. The structure of the organization is the framework within which effort is coordinated. The structure is usually represented by an organization chart, which provides a graphic representation of the chain of command within an organization. Decisions made about the structure of an organization are generally referred to as organizational design decisions.
Organizing also involves the design of individual jobs within the organization. Decisions must be made about the duties and responsibilities of individual jobs, as well as the manner in which the duties should be carried out. Decisions made about the nature of jobs within the organization are generally called “job design” decisions.
Organizing at the level of the organization involves deciding how best to departmentalize, or cluster, jobs into departments to coordinate effort effectively. There are many different ways to departmentalize, including organizing by function, product, geography, or customer. Many larger organizations use multiple methods of departmentalization.
Organizing at the level of a particular job involves how best to design individual jobs to most effectively use human resources. Traditionally, job design was based on principles of division of labor and specialization, which assumed that the more narrow the job content, the more proficient the individual performing the job could become. However, experience has shown that it is possible for jobs to become too narrow and specialized. For example, how would you like to screw lids on jars one day after another, as you might have done many decades ago if you worked in company that made and sold jellies and jams? When this happens, negative outcomes result, including decreased job satisfaction and organizational commitment, increased absenteeism, and turnover.
Recently, many organizations have attempted to strike a balance between the need for worker specialization and the need for workers to have jobs that entail variety and autonomy. Many jobs are now designed based on such principles as empowerment, job enrichment and teamwork. For example, HUI Manufacturing, a custom sheet metal fabricator, has done away with traditional “departments” to focus on listening and responding to customer needs. From company-wide meetings to team huddles, HUI employees know and understand their customers and how HUI might service them best (Huimfg, 2008).
Leading involves the social and informal sources of influence that you use to inspire action taken by others. If managers are effective leaders, their subordinates will be enthusiastic about exerting effort to attain organizational objectives.
The behavioral sciences have made many contributions to understanding this function of management. Personality research and studies of job attitudes provide important information as to how managers can most effectively lead subordinates. For example, this research tells us that to become effective at leading, managers must first understand their subordinates’ personalities, values, attitudes, and emotions.
Studies of motivation and motivation theory provide important information about the ways in which workers can be energized to put forth productive effort. Studies of communication provide direction as to how managers can effectively and persuasively communicate. Studies of leadership and leadership style provide information regarding questions, such as, “What makes a manager a good leader?” and “In what situations are certain leadership styles most appropriate and effective?”
Figure 1.8
Quality control ensures that the organization delivers on its promises.
International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center – Maize seed quality control at small seed company Bidasem – CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.
Controlling involves ensuring that performance does not deviate from standards. Controlling consists of three steps, which include (1) establishing performance standards, (2) comparing actual performance against standards, and (3) taking corrective action when necessary. Performance standards are often stated in monetary terms such as revenue, costs, or profits but may also be stated in other terms, such as units produced, number of defective products, or levels of quality or customer service.
The measurement of performance can be done in several ways, depending on the performance standards, including financial statements, sales reports, production results, customer satisfaction, and formal performance appraisals. Managers at all levels engage in the managerial function of controlling to some degree.
The managerial function of controlling should not be confused with control in the behavioral or manipulative sense. This function does not imply that managers should attempt to control or to manipulate the personalities, values, attitudes, or emotions of their subordinates. Instead, this function of management concerns the manager’s role in taking necessary actions to ensure that the work-related activities of subordinates are consistent with and contributing toward the accomplishment of organizational and departmental objectives.
Effective controlling requires the existence of plans, since planning provides the necessary performance standards or objectives. Controlling also requires a clear understanding of where responsibility for deviations from standards lies. Two traditional control techniques are budget and performance audits. An audit involves an examination and verification of records and supporting documents. A budget audit provides information about where the organization is with respect to what was planned or budgeted for, whereas a performance audit might try to determine whether the figures reported are a reflection of actual performance. Although controlling is often thought of in terms of financial criteria, managers must also control production and operations processes, procedures for delivery of services, compliance with company policies, and many other activities within the organization.
The management functions of planning, organizing, leading, and controlling are widely considered to be the best means of describing the manager’s job, as well as the best way to classify accumulated knowledge about the study of management. Although there have been tremendous changes in the environment faced by managers and the tools used by managers to perform their roles, managers still perform these essential functions.
The principles of management can be distilled down to four critical functions. These functions are planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. This P-O-L-C framework provides useful guidance into what the ideal job of a manager should look like.
Huimfg.com, http://www.huimfg.com/abouthui-yourteams.aspx (accessed October 15, 2008).
Lamond, D, “A Matter of Style: Reconciling Henri and Henry,” Management Decision 42, no. 2 (2004): 330–56.
Mintzberg, H. The Nature of Managerial Work (New York: Harper & Row, 1973); D. Lamond, “A Matter of Style: Reconciling Henri and Henry,” Management Decision 42, no. 2 (2004): 330–56.
james)Put First Things First is Habit # 3 of Stephen Covey’s book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.
Do you put your first things first? Putting first things first means doing the most important things in life. It means being clear about your priorities and acting on them.
AdvertisementThat sounds pretty easy and intuitive, but many people fall into the trap of getting caught up in non-important things. They neglect the larger life priorities until it becomes too late to act on them. To become a master of your time, you need to first be aware of your priorities in the larger context of your life. The framework that I will be sharing with you in this article — the Time Management Matrix — is tremendously useful in helping you achieve that. It will help you structure your daily activities and deal with them based on priority.
The Time Management Matrix is the fourth generation in a series of time management systems developed to give us more control of our lives. Each system builds on the one before it to help us gain greater control of our time. Rubymine 2018 1 4 for mac free download.
The first generation of systems is about “reminders” — reminding ourselves of our tasks using notes and to-do lists. While these are generally helpful, there are two downsides.
The second generation improves on that. It is about “planning and preparation” — looking ahead, identifying deadlines, and scheduling future events accordingly. Tools used include calendars and appointment books. With this system, we now have personal accountability since our tasks are tied to a certain deadline. We can be more organized and prepared, such as for meetings and appointments.
However, the downside is we become fixated on what is on the calendar. In our focus to complete our tasks, we may tune out “distractions,” such as a call from friends or family time, even though we may genuinely value people and relationships!
The third generation addresses that somewhat. It is about “prioritizing, planning, and controlling” which includes clarifying values and goal setting based on those values. Daily tasks are subsequently planned in accordance with these goals. Tools used include the personal organizer and electronic or paper-based planners.
Most of us use this system today. When I was studying in business school, most people used this system. Everyone’s common goal was to have a successful career in a reputable company; subsequently, our daily tasks revolved around getting good grades, project work, and studying.
AdvertisementHowever, the system does not factor in deeper values like relationships, spirituality, and inner peace which are more important in the bigger picture. While people become highly successful in goal achievement with the third generation system, they eventually reach a point where there is a conflict between their goals and what gives them deeper meaning in life. An example would be overachieving corporate professionals who feel a sense of emptiness despite a successful career.
The fourth generation system addresses this gap. It helps us focus on identifying higher-value tasks and accomplishing results. This is done by using the Time Management Matrix to first classify our daily activities by Urgency/Importance, and then to deal with them based on the Quadrant they fall in.
The Time Management Matrix is also known as the Eisenhower Matrix. It was created by Dwight D. Eisenhower, the 34th president of the United States, and was later popularized by Stephen Covey in his book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.
Using The Time Management Matrix, our daily activities can be broken down into 4 Quadrants, sorted by urgency and importance:
4 Quadrants of the Time Management Matrix along with examples (Image © Personal Excellence)You will find your crises or emergencies here. Quadrant 1 screams for our attention because of its urgent and consequential nature.
However, many people fall into the trap of getting caught up in Q1. By spending all our time here, we become consumed with firefighting every day instead of crisis prevention. Side effects include stress, burnout, constant firefighting, and resolving problems instead of preventing them in the first place. We often see working level employees, advertising executives, accountants, etc. getting consumed by this quadrant.
Some people spend a lot of time dealing with Q3 tasks and confusing them with Q1 tasks. They think the tasks are important when they are not. For example, you may be spending a lot of time on a certain report that does not have any effect on your overall job performance or appraisal. Or you constantly attend meetings that have no value-add. This is why Q3 is called the Quadrant of Deception. Many times, the urgency of these tasks are due to others’ priorities or needs.
AdvertisementGoogle chrome plus free download for windows 7. A good way to differentiate a Q3 task from a Q1 task is to ask yourself: “Is this task related to my goals? Does doing this make any difference to me?” Focusing on Q3 results in short-term focus, being out of control of your life, and not being able to stick with your goals and plans.
This is called the Quadrant of Waste, and for good reason — it contains all your time wasters. People living unconsciously have a tendency to hover around Quadrants 3 and 4. After resolving their Q3 tasks, they enter auto-pilot mode and spend all their time in Q4. This can be because they have nothing better to do or they are procrastinating on the things they should be doing. Quadrant 4 creates no value in our lives whatsoever. Focusing on Q4 results in irresponsible behavior and dependency on other people.
Q2 is the magic quadrant we need to focus on. It is the most important quadrant, yet the most often neglected one.
Q2 is about having personal leadership and focusing on the important tasks that matter. Q2 tasks reflect your life goals and desires, which are linked to your life purpose. To correctly define them, you need to be clear on your life purpose first— so if you have not discovered your life purpose, please read my 7-part series on How To Find Your Life Purpose!
There are two reasons why Q2 tasks are often neglected: Firstly, Q2 tasks never become urgent until it is too late. For example, taking care of your health or pursuing your dreams. Secondly, compared to other quadrants, these tasks require more investment of energy and time to see results, which conflicts with modern society’s obsession with instant results.
However, Q2 tasks reap the most reward in the long run. Think about it as sowing seeds for future harvest.
After you plant your seeds, you will need to continuously water and care for them. However, it is a matter of time before you can reap the rewards of your labor. On the other hand, if you keep on putting off these Q2 tasks, everything will remain the same, whether it’s 5, 10, or 20 years from now. Focusing on your Q2 will create vision, perspective, balance, and control.
AdvertisementThink about all the things you do on a typical day. Now, classify them into their respective quadrants. How time and effort do you spend on each quadrant? Are there any tasks in your Quadrant 2 that you are neglecting? Strengthening your relationship with your family perhaps? Finding your life partner? Improving your health? Or investing in personal development?
To be effective, you need to consciously alter your behavior in the following ways:
The table below illustrates a breakdown of how effective people allocate their time. The bigger the quadrant size, the more time you should spend on it:
An ideal allocation of time across the 4 quadrants, with 0% of time going into Q4 (Image © Personal Excellence)Notice that Q2 should take up the bulk of your time, followed by Q1. Q3 takes up a minimal proportion. Q4 tasks are completely out of the picture.
Intuit quicken 2017 4 7 2 download free. If you are living in an unconscious manner, you will find the majority of your time spent in Quadrants 1, 3, and 4. When I first learned about the Time Management Matrix, I was surprised to know that many of my Q2 tasks were neglected. Most of my time was spent in Q1, followed by Q3, and finally Q4.
For example at work, I would spend the majority of my time firefighting and dealing with crises. This was especially so as I was a project manager where meeting timelines was crucial. I was also unconsciously investing my time in Q3 tasks and thinking that I was being productive, such as writing unnecessary reports, attending unimportant meetings, and dealing with others’ requests.
AdvertisementAfter I was done with the Q1 and Q3 tasks, I would be too tired to do any brain work. I would move to mindless activities, which were the Q4 tasks. These included random web surfing, rewatching drama series, shopping, and playing games. On the other hand, I had Q2 goals like eating healthier, exercising, pursuing my passion, and improving my relationship with my family. While I recognized them as important, they were always last on my to-do list as because they never struck me as urgent. If I ever planned a Q2 task, I would almost never get to it as the Q1 and Q3 tasks would always take center stage. Q2 tasks were always left for tomorrow or next time since they were not urgent.
A year later, I reviewed the framework. Guess what I found? There was almost no change in how I spent my time across the 4 quadrants! Despite wanting to work on my Q2 goals, they kept moving to the back burner because there were always new, urgent things emerging every day, taking up my time and attention. Despite being incredibly efficient in my Q1 and Q3 tasks, my life was not very different vs. a year ago.
By constantly working on the urgent, I did not have any time for my Q2 goals — the most important areas of my life. It became clear that unless I consciously prioritize my Q2 tasks/goals, nothing is ever going to happen to them.
Understanding that was very powerful for me. From then on, I became more proactive in working on my Q2 goals. First, I wrote my Q2 goals in a document. Then, I developed strategies and plans to achieve these goals. Every time I started an activity, I would evaluate to see which quadrant it belonged to. Depending on the quadrant, I would either do it myself (if it was a Q1 task), spend disproportionate time/effort on it (Q2), delegate it (Q3), or dump it (Q4).
It was not easy. When I first started this, there were many times when I would slip into my previous response model. But as time passed, I started seeing the benefits of investing in Q2 tasks. For example, after I started working on eating healthier and exercising more often, I began to lose excess weight. After I started my business, I became much more fulfilled. After I worked on finding love, I attracted my soulmate (who is now my husband) into my life.
Today, I naturally work on my Q2 tasks. That’s because Q2 is a “gold mine” — when you take the time to “mine” it every day, you will see rewards after a while. As for the Q1, Q3 and Q4 tasks, my goal is to get them out of the way so that I can get back to focusing on Q2, because I know working on Q2 will give me the biggest rewards in the long run.
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