Projects that never end...

In a project-based organization like Life Strategies, it's easy to let projects without deadlines keep shifting down the list to make room for other high priority tasks. Here are a few tips to make our summer go more smoothly. If you think of a couple more tips, please use comments or send them by email - when we get to 10, I'll have Cheryl create a Tip Sheet for our resources.

1. Meet deadlines for high priority billable work; clearly this is important



2. Move other important tasks forward each day. These shouldn't be on anyone's "To Do" if they aren't important, so it's crucial to move them forward (or acknowledge when you're stuck). Take a careful look at your To Do lists. Check back through filed emails and project updates to be sure that everything you've said you'd do is listed.



3. Identify the quick wins. Is there anything on your list that can be done in 15 minutes or less? Block out an hour tomorrow and get 4 of those done! Continue daily until they're off your plate - you'll be amazed at the renewed energy you feel when countless small unfinished things aren't hanging over you.



4. Set deadlines for the important but not urgent items. Break them into small (one hour) tasks and make those tasks urgent by setting deadlines. Give yourself one hour each day to get one of those tasks complete. Add up the hours to give those overall projects a realistic deadline.



5. Cluster your day-to-day work. Depending on your role, this will be different for everyone (i.e., responding to phone, email, mail, or unexpected requests). Allocate a reasonable amount of space each day to these tasks - they're an important part of a customer-service business. However, they can't take over your whole day - or there won't be room for the billable work or other important tasks in 1, 2, 3, and 4 above.



6. Be accountable. If you've agreed to do something, the person who delegated assumes it will be done reasonably quickly - otherwise he or she would have delegated to someone else or kept it him or herself. If you've agreed to do a task and find it sitting for more than 2 days, check in with an update and renegotiate the agreement.



7. Reprioritize. Our work changes daily, so it's important to reprioritize at a personal, team, or organizational level depending on the tasks. Don't do this in isolation - just because something has shifted down your priority list doesn't mean that it's not still a higher priority task for someone else, for a reason you may not be aware of. If in doubt, consult!