Top Tips to Manage Your Daily Tasks
It’s Monday morning. You’ve got leftover tasks on your calendar from last week, an inbox full of new requests, and team members who need marching orders for the day. How do you get on top of it all and manage daily tasks in an efficient way? Enter daily task management. You’ll be cleaning up your overdue assignments and starting fresh with an actionable plan to delegate, manage, and execute your aligned to-do list for work before lunchtime. The process of managing your daily tasks can be tricky, especially when you’re leading an entire team through more than one complex project. The good news is you don’t need to be a productivity expert — or develop superhuman habits — to come up with a successful plan for tackling your day-to-day tasks. You just need to learn these top tips to manage your daily tasks. What are the benefits of daily task tracking? There are many benefits to daily task tracking, ranging from achieving benchmarks to saving valuable resources. Here’s a closer look at some of the top advantages. Stay aligned with goals It’s easy to get distracted by shiny object syndrome. Identify how and why your team members or fellow managers deprioritize current projects for new ones. You can also use daily task tracking to evaluate your day-to-day functions versus the outcome they’re supposed to achieve. Identify non-essential tasks At the start of each new workday, take a few minutes to review your project and task lists and see how they can be simplified. Then, challenge yourself to cut down half (yes, half!) of those tasks to only the ones that directly impact your goal. Then, try to cut it even further a couple of days later by delegating, outsourcing, or rescheduling them from your project management tool. Become more accountable Document expectations of yourself and others by assigning tasks where everyone can see them. Automate reminders to save time on following up if things fall behind. And make sure your team knows that communication is important, and there’s no shame in asking for help, reassigning obligations to those with lighter loads, or simply finding a way to reprioritize tasks if goals change. Improve task estimates Use software that tracks time for specific tasks. Look at your results over time and adjust to meet the average amount next time you assign a similar project. Remember that additions such as breaks, waiting for third-party feedback, and other related actions will impact the work itself. Say goodbye to multitasking According to the Harvard Business Review, a work environment that fosters flow will generate five times more productivity than multitasking. Assigning tasks with a singular focus will not only get them done quicker, but it will also make daily task organization that much easier. Add self-care into your schedule It’s important to keep in mind that even if we are very motivated and eager to accomplish goals, the fastest way to achieve them is by taking great care of ourselves, so we can perform at our best. This means creating tasks entirely dedicated to self-care. Even if it doesn’t feel productive to take a break from work, acknowledging that our work lives are a marathon and not a sprint will go a long way toward accomplishing even more than you could without it. Start by incorporating 10-minute breaks every hour, taking a full lunch every day, and setting aside at least a few minutes at the beginning and end of every day to reflect on where you are and where you’re going. What is the best way to manage daily tasks? There is more than one way to manage daily tasks. However, productivity experts, researchers, and students of self-help bestsellers all agree on the following practices for managing your daily to-do list. Prioritize your tasks There are lots of ways to think about prioritization. Some people use the urgent and important model. Others rely on the idea of effort versus benefit. However you choose to do it, finding a methodology for decision-making that you like and sticking to it will go a long way towards prioritizing your tasks. Focus on one task at a time Getting the most out of your time is a basic concept of productivity. However, multitasking and other factors can slow you down. Single-tasking can help you focus on the things that really matter. It can also help you get into a state of flow. While it might seem boring to work on one thing for a long time, limiting your focus can actually help boost creativity. When you’re single-tasking, it allows you to explore new ideas and paths. It also helps you find the results that you may not have even thought of. Also, people who spend their days working on various tasks need long periods of time to recharge. Single-tasking allows them to feel free and end their work sessions feeling refreshed and more successful. Set time limits Having a set of time limits on projects and tasks helps you keep track of your availability. For example, if you want to work on a project for 10 hours this week, then you need to find a way to schedule 10 hours to finish that project. But if you limit yourself to five hours, you’ll likely find productive shortcuts that allow you to stay within those parameters. Having a limit on how many hours you can work each day also helps prevent you from overextending yourself. Communicate Chances are, the tasks you manage on a daily basis either directly involve or impact at least one other person. One of the best ways to keep everyone in the loop is by scheduling regular face-to-face meetings. These are usually a group or one-on-one session, and they can help you identify areas of concern or improve the way you support your team. However, it's also important to make sure that the meetings are productive and that the quality of communication is maintained. One of the best ways to improve team communication is to keep track of all of your conversations in real time. Doing so will help minimize the chances of losing valuable ideas and resources. If meetings aren’t needed or possible, given everyone’s busy schedules, it’s important to keep communication organized and easy to reference. You can accomplish all of this by simply using a project management tool that enables you to create notes, loop in other collaborators using @mentions, and tie directly back into task details. This can be done through a shared digital document. But for more complex projects, you’ll want to use daily task management software to scale your efforts and unlock other productivity hacks. Take breaks between tasks Focus on the frequency and quality of your breaks while managing daily tasks. The number of breaks you need and when will vary from person to person and can be affected by a variety of factors, including your health, sleep quality, and work environment. Make sure you learn how to observe your own energy levels and develop realistic expectations for yourself. When you’re on a break, consider what activities you will or won’t allow yourself to do. For example, checking a work email while on a break doesn’t really give you the chance to pause and step away from your computer. Actions such as taking a walk, brewing a cup of tea, or simply turning off electronics for ten minutes can greatly reduce fatigue and help you be productive the entire workday. Look to delegate when needed Being a leader means that you can’t do everything yourself, so delegating is very important. Delegating isn’t just about lightening your load. If done correctly, delegating your daily tasks when needed can help build trust and develop your team's skills. It can also help you better identify, hire, and train the ideal individuals to tackle projects. This also helps prepare employees for future responsibility and further develop their skill set for their career long-term. If the tasks you want to delegate are unskilled or can be done by anyone who has the time and basic information, consider hiring a virtual assistant or freelancer. If you’re hesitant to propose this given your current department budget, consider the opportunity costs of continuing to do this particular task. Is it keeping you from the tasks you were specifically hired to do? Are there more effective uses of your time? Reflect on these questions to determine whether outsourcing is right for you. Features to look for in daily task management software Daily task management software can help you manage the complexities of leading a team and organizing more than one project at a time. Here are the must-have features to look for in your next purchase or trial. Subtasks Subtasks are all the actions needed to complete a given task. One of the first steps in adding subtasks to your daily project to-do list is adding or highlighting all the tasks that represent a single step. This umbrella of smaller tasks represents the true time and resource budget you’ll need to complete the larger task. For example, you may be working on a blog article. If your to-do list simply says write a new blog article, you’re missing out on other key steps, such as performing keyword research, outlining the blog article, assigning the blog article to team members, setting a due date, linking the outline to the blog article task, reviewing the blog article draft, and preparing to publish the blog article. If you’re not sure whether you need subtasks for a particular action item, your team can decide what is or isn't a single-step task based on what they have done or don't have time to prepare. Once you’ve gathered input from your team members who have specific knowledge of the task, you can then do additional research to determine the exact time it will take to finish. After going through the list of single-step tasks and sub-tasks, make sure that the list doesn't include any tasks unrelated to the main project goals. Doing so will help keep the list organized and prevent the overuse of subtasks. Collaboration Today, more people are working from home and using collaboration tools that allow them to work seamlessly from anywhere. With a daily task management software, you can create a secure environment for your team to work together. Cloud storage allows you to organize and store all your documents. It also allows you to keep track of all your conversations. Top daily task management software will even allow you to create custom-form requests that help you to complete tasks faster. From there, you can also keep track of all the details of your process, such as milestones and reports, while seamlessly collaborating with the rest of your team and stakeholders. Sharing facilities Collaborating on documents, sharing files to those who need them, and getting approval on work completed can be challenging if there isn’t already a system in place for sharing facilities. That is why having the ability to share ownership of tasks is so important. Sharing facilities makes it easier to communicate with relevant team members, save time on manual data entry, and keep everyone in the loop in real time. This is especially important for work that requires at least one other person’s input, assistance, or approval in a timely manner. Instead of wasting time asking for file access, updating permission settiings, and guessing file names, your team can easily communicate with one another through a central shared platform. Time tracking Time tracking makes it possible to properly estimate and record the time it takes to complete a given action. This is great for planning out your work for the day, providing accurate cost estimates for clients, and prioritizing projects. Some daily task management platforms allow you to track all of your work within the platform. Count your hours and minutes more accurately as you go about your day. Add a time log entry or start a task timer while you’re at it. Automate when your timers stop or start to keep you on task. Typically when you start using the timer, it will continue running until you stop orstart tracking another task. In daily task management software tools such as Wrike, it will also continue running if you close your browser window. And when you start tracking the time spent on a task, leading solutions such as Wrike will display an Activity Streams entry that indicates that you've started working on it. A clock will appear at the top of the screen that shows how much time you've spent on the task. Limit yourself to one timer for one focused task. If you need to keep your place but switch tasks, Wrike offers multiple time tracker options to save your spot and return to it later. Free templates We’ve saved the biggest and best productivity benefit of daily task management software for last: free in-app templates. Wrike and other leading solutions offer free templates for everything from complex project management in phases to Kanban-style management to marketing calendars. Using a template developed by experts will save you time trying to reinvent the wheel whenever you get a new project. It will also make coming up with and delegating related tasks easier since they’ll already be preloaded on the template. Why use Wrike as your daily task organizer? Wrike is a daily task management tool used by team leaders and project managers. With its ability to create, assign, and manage ongoing tasks, Wrike is an obvious choice for a daily task organizer. Unlike other daily task organizers, Wrike offers the ability to improve communication and collaboration through a number of highly detailed yet simple-to-use features. Here are just some ways successful brands have used Wrike to streamline even their most complex to-do lists. 1. Automate data entry Once a task is added to Wrike, users can create and attach custom tags. These tags automatically sort tasks into related folders and project categories. Instead of manually searching for related tasks within one long to-do list, team members can see tasks related to them in their own workspaces, individual projects, or anywhere else they’d intuitively expect to see them. 2. Make requests seamless Requests coming in from other sources such as the sales department or even clients can overwhelm your team if there isn’t a system in place to prioritize and assign them. In Wrike, users can master the art of balancing ongoing work with new tasks without skipping a beat. There are many ways to do so, which means you can pick the one that works best for you and your unique team. From custom workflows to request forms, it’s never been easier to stay on top of new or conflicting initiatives. 3. Stay on top Wrike makes it possible to monitor and manage everything task-related. That means viewing individual team members’ progress, task roadblocks sorted by project or department, potential missed deadlines you can problem-solve ahead of time, and even billable hour usage. Whatever you need to see, Wrike will make it visible to you. 4. Get useful reminders Swap the sticky notes for reminders sent when and where you need them. Wrike gives users the option to add a Chrome Extension, which will automatically notify you about upcoming deadlines or tasks due that day. You can also have Wrike send you an email with a breakdown of the day’s work every morning so you can get stuck in right away. 5. Kick-start action Wrike also offers team leaders and managers the power of project templates. Whether it’s one of our many effective pre-made templates ready for you to use right away or one you’ve customized yourself, Wrike helps turn project plans into actions that much faster. Manage your daily tasks with Wrike Plan out goals, tasks, and subtasks every day with Wrike's project management software. Begin with our library of customizable templates, which come pre-populated with everything you need to get started. Custom project dashboards, automated reminders, and detailed task description options will help you start every day off on the right foot. And when you’re ready to check off the boxes? Wrike will be there to support you when you create your next series of to-dos. Want to supercharge your productivity? Get a free two-week Wrike trial to see how easy collaborative project management can be.
How to Work Effectively: 13 Simple Strategies to Work Smarter
Productivity at work is something that ebbs and flows. We all have off days where we feel we could have done more. But the important thing to remember is that productivity is a habit — it's something you can build over time and become better at every day by choosing the methods and tricks that work for you. No matter your job or industry, we all want to learn how to be effective at work and achieve our professional goals. But true productivity is more than simply checking tasks off a to-do list—it’s about doing more of what matters. Luckily, all it takes is a few adjustments to your daily work habits to see an improvement, so start with these simple tips and watch your productivity soar. Try Weekly To-Do List Template 13 ways to be more effective at work Trim your task list We all know how paralyzing it can be to start a big project or tackle a crazy to-do list. So don’t overwhelm yourself with a massive task list! Give yourself three to five important items you need to accomplish in one day, and focus on those. If you get them done early, you can always add a few more things to your list, but keeping it manageable will keep you productive — instead of just keeping you busy. Swap your to-do list for a schedule Sit down, look at your available time for the day, and be realistic about what you can get done. Then make a game plan: Schedule specific slots of time for each of your important tasks—and be sure to include breaks. By dedicating time and structuring your day, you can take advantage of the times of day you're naturally more focused and motivated, make tangible progress on important work, and ensure you take the necessary breaks to stay mentally fresh. Stop while you’re still on a roll One of the biggest reasons we procrastinate is that we simply don’t know where to start. But if you stop working on a task for the day knowing exactly what you need to do next, it’s much easier to get started again. End every task with a defined “next step” to quickly get back in the zone next time. Stay organized Highly effective people have systems in place to help them find the exact information they need right when they need it. A simple system like David Allen's Getting Things Done method (GTD) can ease the mental burden of storing reminders and ideas and free up brain space for more meaningful and effective work. Get a 20-second overview of the famous GTD method here. Make bad habits more difficult to indulge Constant distractions tank your productivity and IQ, and you can't work effectively if you're not performing at your best. So create some simple barriers to help you focus. If you’re constantly pulling out your phone while you work to text a friend or check social media, for instance, put your phone in a locked desk drawer and keep the key in an upstairs closet, or ask a trusted co-worker to hold on to it until lunch. Prioritize A big part of being effective at work is learning to say no. Figure out what really matters — which tasks actually move the needle on your primary goals? Which projects have the biggest impact on your bottom line? Cut the busy work that doesn’t actually amount to anything. Using a data-driven goal-setting technique like OKRs (objectives and key results) is a practical way to focus your daily efforts on clearly-defined, measurable goals that directly contribute to larger business objectives. Tackle your most important tasks first Your motivation and creativity are at a high point in the morning, So instead of starting your day by checking emails (which can quickly derail your plans, as what you intended to accomplish gets pushed off or lost among incoming requests), wait a few hours to check your inbox and work on a more significant project while your mental energy is still high. Try Weekly To-Do List Template Plan tomorrow tonight While you shouldn't stay up agonizing over all the work waiting for you tomorrow, creating a short list of simple to-dos at night can help you hit the ground running in the morning, establishing a productive momentum that will carry you through the rest of the day. Try to include at least one moderately challenging task in your list — according to Dr. Mihaly Csiksgentmihalyi, there's a sweet spot where your brain more easily enters that "flow" state where your brain is humming and you're doing your best work. It happens when the degree of challenge and your abilities intersect at a high point. (If the task isn't challenging enough, you'll get bored, and if it's too high, you'll get anxious and stressed). Use idle time to knock out admin tasks Waiting in line at the grocery store, bus stop, bank, etc., doesn't have to be wasted time. Bring a book you’ve been meaning to read, clear a few emails, or catch up on status updates. Or simply let your mind wander and observe the world around you. You never know when your next great idea will hit you! Schedule meetings with yourself Create a distraction-free zone where you can go to focus when necessary. Block time off on your calendar where you won’t be disturbed, turn off your email and message notifications (or better yet, disconnect from the internet entirely), and focus on a single important task for an hour or two. Change your self-talk Instead of saying, “I have too much to do today!” and “I’m so stressed out right now!” say, “These are the two things I need to focus on today." A simple shift in perspective can do wonders for your motivation and energy levels. Communicate and clarify We all have to collaborate with others at some level to do our jobs, so learning how to work effectively with others is an essential part of improving your effectiveness at work. One of the best ways to avoid unnecessary rework and wasted time is to eliminate misunderstandings and miscommunications. Get it right the first time, and you’ll save yourself a ton of time and mental energy revising and redoing tasks. Find ways to do more of the work you enjoy When you're interested in, challenged by, and good at your work, you're more engaged — and more effective. Consider which aspects of your job you look forward to, which skills you get the most praise for, and which types of projects your colleagues ask you for help with. While not everything you do at work can be a passion project, with a little creativity, even tedious tasks can be fun or challenging. The next time you have to generate a timesheet or expense report, time yourself and see if you can beat your personal high score. Do your best to learn something new every day, or push yourself to try something you haven't before. Try Weekly To-Do List Template More tips and resources to improve effectiveness at work Whether you work in marketing, project management, software development, or any other field, our collection of tips and tools on productivity and motivation will help you learn how to be more effective at work. Using a work management system like Wrike can help you take your productivity to the next level by looking after the small tasks so you can concentrate on the big ideas. Features like 400+ app integrations to collaborate across platforms, intuitive automation to free up time spent on admin, and customizable workflows and work views to suit your needs all lead to doing the best work of your life with software that works for you. Try it now with a free two-week trial.
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Top Motivation Tips to Get More Done
Raise your hand if you’ve ever felt unmotivated or uninspired at work or in your personal life. We’ve all been there. It’s normal to hit a wall where you aren’t feeling up to doing much more than binge-watching TV, surfing the internet, or scrolling social media. But unfortunately, your to-do list isn’t on the same page. Sometimes you have to find ways to power through feeling unmotivated and get back on track. With these tips, you’ll be able to jumpstart your momentum and make upward progress. We put together our top motivation tips to help you get more done. Whether you’re looking for personal motivation, remote work inspiration, or you’re a manager looking to motivate your employees, we’ve got you covered. Top motivation tips for work Need some inspiration to buckle down and focus on your own work tasks? Try these quick tips. 1. Create bite-sized milestones to help you achieve your goals When your goals are big (and sometimes unattainable), you may inadvertently demotivate yourself through failure. Break down your goals into bite-sized milestones and accomplishments that allow you to gain momentum over time. Using a framework like SMART goals (where your goals are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound) can help you ensure you’re continuously making progress toward the finish line. 2. Set focused time and stick to it Research suggests that interruptions at work can cost up to six hours per day in time lost. Between task switching and adding more to your to-do list without checking any items off, it’s no wonder interruptions leave us feeling unmotivated and frazzled. Try setting focused work time and sticking to it. Block time off on your calendar (or use the new focus time feature if you’re a Google Calendar user). Silence notifications, change your status on messaging apps, and do your best to stick with the tasks at hand. You can even track your time to hold yourself accountable. 3. Plan your day (including breaks) When you lose steam during the workday, it can feel nearly impossible to jump back into things if you aren’t sure what you should be spending your time on. Whether you prefer pen and paper, your digital calendar, or some other form of organizing your tasks, allocate time to give yourself the gift of a daily plan. And don’t forget to schedule your breaks, just as you would any other task. Having scheduled breaks gives you free time to look forward to, which can serve as a much-needed incentive when the going gets tough. Top tips to stay motivated while working remotely Staying zoned in on your work to-do’s is always a challenge, but that never feels more true than when you’re working from home and surrounded by distractions. Use these strategies to tune out your home-based interruptions and get your work done. 4. Choose a dedicated workspace Curling up in bed with your laptop while working remotely might feel tempting, but getting too cozy can impact your motivation, even if you enjoy feeling comfortable and relaxed at the time. As best you can, designate a workspace in your home to help you set boundaries between work and your free time. If your home is small and you can’t dedicate an entire room to work, try to find an area (such as your kitchen table) for work-only activities. 5. Build a morning routine that works for you A recent study suggests that many enjoy working from home or at least in a hybrid environment, but it can be easy to fall into procrastinating starting the workday. Humans are creatures of habit, and building a morning routine can help you get into the flow and feel motivated first thing. Choose activities that will help you set the tone for the day, whether that’s reading a book over coffee, exercising, or spending some time with your loved ones. 6. Stay connected with others Remote work can feel isolating, and struggling with loneliness can make it challenging to stay motivated. Find ways to stay connected throughout the day, such as collaborating with colleagues and teammates via chat or video call for virtual team building. Consider dedicating time to check in with family and friends on breaks if you work alone or for yourself. Tips to motivate employees In charge of a team? Figuring out how to keep them on task without being a micromanager can feel like a tightrope walk. Here are a few tips on how to strike that delicate balance. 7. Recognize your team One recent study revealed that recognition is the most important driver of great work. Positive feedback feels great, doesn’t it? As a manager or leader, make sure you build in time to celebrate a job well done to keep employees feeling appreciated (and more motivated, to boot). 8. Trust your employees Micromanagement kills motivation, and little-to-no attention can be demotivating to employees. Instead, strive to achieve a happy medium in which you instill trust in your employees while also providing them sufficient support. Allowing your team members to do their jobs and offering a guiding light when necessary will help ensure employees feel valued and spur momentum. 9. Set a combination of team and individual goals Don’t let individual-level goals get lost in the sea of departmental goals or organizational objectives. While businesses need to set goals for their teams, employees likely want to focus on personal growth. Setting individual-level goals tailored to each person can be powerful and motivating. Motivational tips for personal success Of course, motivation needs to extend beyond your professional task list. If there’s a more personal ambition you want to achieve — whether it’s running a marathon or sticking to a budget — here are a few more strategies you can use to achieve those meaningful milestones. 10. Set goals you’re interested in Don’t set goals because you feel you should. Instead, choose goals that excite you and feel relevant to your needs and dreams. There’s nothing more deflating than feeling forced to work on a plan you don’t care about and trying to muster up the motivation to do so. 11. Celebrate yourself Personal success and goal setting can feel isolating, and the reality is that you have to be your own biggest fan. Rather than turning to external sources of recognition, create a reward system for yourself and celebrate your accomplishments accordingly. Acknowledging how far you’ve come will motivate you to keep inching toward your end goal. 12. Surround yourself with the right resources You don’t have to embark on the journey to personal success alone. Whether you need a community of like-minded people working toward the same goals or educational materials to help you succeed, utilizing various resources will help you stay motivated, especially in moments when you feel like giving up. Remember, it’s completely normal to feel unmotivated sometimes — we’ve all been there. Don’t beat yourself up, and instead, try some of these motivation tips to get the ball rolling and get more done.
A Quick Guide to the MoSCoW Method Technique
The MoSCoW method is a prioritization technique used by project and campaign managers to work smarter not harder. In this quick guide, we’ll explain exactly what the MoSCoW method is, how it works, and provide some examples you can use to inform your own analysis. Keep reading to better understand the various categories within the MoSCoW method, as well as an alternative prioritization tool for project managers. What is the MoSCow method? The MoSCoW method is a technique used by organizations to communicate the importance and priority of the various requirements being met in various projects. This method is also referred to as MoSCoW prioritization and MoSCoW analysis. The term MoSCoW is an acronym that refers to the first letter of each of the four priority categories. It uses four categories, which are must-have, should-want, could-have, and will not have. While it’s meant to be used at the start of a project when time is on your side, it can also be adapted to work seamlessly for time constraints. Software developer Dai Clegg originally created the MoScoW method. Since then, many other leading companies have used it to get their team on the same page, properly distribute resources, and achieve project goals. How does the MoSCow technique work? The MoSCoW technique works by allowing teams to include multiple representatives from the organization in their project management discussions. This gives everyone a wider perspective on the organization's operations and where their collective priorities lie. Before you begin your MoSCoW method, think about which people can provide valuable context for your team. They can help you identify opportunities and threats, and they can help you make better decisions. Once finalized, the MoSCoW method will also force stakeholders to show evidence before they can submit additional work requests mid-project. Critics of MoSCoW often say that it does not include a comprehensive objective scoring system for all initiatives. This is a common mistake that many teams make. A weighted scoring method will more accurately measure the backlog against a set of predefined benefits and costs. One of the most challenging aspects of the MoSCoW technique is learning which categories their initiatives should go in. As the manager, you will need to know which of your team's initiatives are “must haves” for their product or which are merely “should haves”. You may even need to solicit feedback from a different department in order to get greater perspective on your current project prioritization. For example, a marketing department head may have greater insight into which selling points for your upcoming product launch are resonating more with buyers so that you can work on perfecting those components first. Another key idea about how the MoSCoW technique works is that it’s only effective if you follow it. This means that, once an initiative is placed into a category, the entire team needs to stick to that decision. Many beginner MoSCoW teams end up agreeing that an initiative should have been initiated, but they move on to the next step instead because it feels better or more familiar to them. Finally, when it comes to making decisions about prioritization, your team will need to have a consistent framework in place before you engage with this technique. A consistent framework for assessing and ranking all initiatives is critical if you want to avoid biases and falling into old patterns. Your team’s prioritization strategy helps set expectations across the organization. It lets them know that they have made the right decisions and weigh all the factors that go into making those decisions. Don’t be afraid to make your MoSCoW method results available to the rest of your organization if applicable. Understanding MoSCow prioritization categories Before the MoSCoW analysis can begin, all participants need to agree on which initiatives will be prioritized. It's important to discuss how to resolve disagreements in order to prevent them from holding up progress during this preparation stage. This can help prevent issues from happening in the first place. Once the framework has been established, it is time to start identifying the appropriate categories for each project. Here are the definitions and explanations of each of the MoSCoW prioritization categories: Must have Musts are defined as initiatives that are critical to the success of a project or product. These are usually non-negotiable and can be used to describe specific functionalities or solutions that need to be implemented. The “must have” category is challenging to define. Before you start, ask yourself if something is truly necessary in this category. Should have Although “should have” initiatives are not essential to a product or project, they may add significant value. A “should have” initiative is different from a “must have” initiative, which means it can be scheduled for a future release. Could have “Could haves” are initiatives that are not necessary to the core of a product. Projects that are placed in the “could have” category are often the first ones to be deprioritized when another project takes longer than expected. Will not have The MoSCoW method places several initiatives in a “will not have” category. This method allows you to manage expectations about what will not be included in a release or another timeframe. Putting initiatives in the “will not have" category can help prevent scope creep. This category shows the team that the project is not a priority at this specific time frame. Some initiatives are prioritized in the “will not have” group, while others are likely to happen in the future. Some teams then decide to create a subcategory for these initiatives. How is the MoSCoW method used in project management? The concept of MoSCoW allows project managers to prioritize tasks that can be done efficiently even when they have limited time. For example, if the team has a tight budget, it can use MoSCoW to determine which initiatives can be completed within those limitations. This is especially useful for managers juggling more than project or leading cross-functional teams. This is because cross-functional teams are sometimes obligated to another company or department’s priorities. While your team is working on a new product release, another project manager may have them on a tight timeline for another client’s goal. And, as we all know, things come up throughout the lifespan of a project. Although efficient planning helps teams remain agile, the MoSCoW method can make even the biggest and most unexpected roadblocks more manageable. MoSCoW examples This method can be used for nearly any industry or project type because it has to do more with project decision-making than the subject matter itself. Here are a couple of MoSCoW method examples you can use to get started with your first draft: 1. National College of Ireland’s website project In this example from a lecture on the MoSCoW analysis, Professor Eugene O’Loughlin demonstrates how to use this technique when building a website. The project goal in this example is to create a platform where users can securely log in and access files. Because of this, the tasks listed under their MoSCoW categories will look different from other standard website creation projects. For example, while another project may add “have an eye-catching design” to their should-have section, this particular website has added “password retrieval” because it directly applies to their security-oriented goal. Even if this website project could benefit from a great design, the MoSCoW method helps managers and teams laser focus on completing the highest priority activities first. If they have more time later on, they can potentially add a design improvement task to their “could haves” if they determine the ROI is high enough. Takeaway: Consider your project holistically when assigning priority. Your goals should be your north star for determining what is or is not truly important, regardless of what conventional wisdom says to do. 2. Slideteam’s Assessing HR Requirements Template This is one of the MoSCoW examples that shows how many different types of tasks this technique covers. Here, we see storing employee leave history as a must, leave letter printing a should, notifications for pending leave dates a could, and remote access a won’t. In HR, many of their decisions around prioritization will be made by compliance and legal counsel that they must adhere to. Still, it’s important to define these tasks and their MoSCoW label so that employees understand at a glance that it’s less important to set up leave notifications and more important that they update employment histories in their software. Takeaway: The MoSCoW method can be used to cover many different aspects of projects including compliance and procedure. How to undertake a MoSCoW analysis using Wrike Wrike is a project management software that allows users to strategize how they prioritize their portfolio of projects as well as the tasks within each individual initiative. Using visual tools such as road maps that show what progress will look like from kickoff to completion, managers can easily see which of their chosen MoSCoW analysis configurations work best for achieving their goals. Wrike also allows you to centralize all of your project planning in one central location. You can view potential resource conflicts across projects, individual task progress statuses, and automate tasks from your should or could have categories that you otherwise wouldn’t have time for. Ready to get started with the MoSCoW method and Wrike? Sign up for a two-week free trial today.
Is Information Overload Real? Or Are We Just a Wimpy Generation? (Video)
Information overload is supposedly a very real, very current phenomenon that our parents never had to deal with. And if you believe we're just a wimpy generation compared to our forefathers, here's a stat to knock your socks off: we see more than 34 billion bits of information per day online — an equivalent of 2 books a day. The stat comes from Adrian Ott's research while writing his book The 24-Hour Customer. It captures our predicament aptly: now more than ever before, we're drowning in potentially meaningful information. We interviewed Getting Things Done author David Allen, who calls this phenomenon an attack by the "barbarians of overwhelming opportunity." See the video below: Information Overload: Not the Real Problem To be clear, even though consuming 34 billion bits of data daily is massive, that's not what's creating the crisis. It's the potential meaning that could be in the information we've received that stresses us out and keeps us from focusing on one thing at a time. Allen explains with an example: nature. When you set foot in a forest, every one of your senses feeds you information about your surroundings. But you don't implode because there aren't that many potentially meaningful things you have to worry about — until you come across dangerous animals or suspicious fruits. Email is a different story. You never know which message is urgent or life-threatening, and which is just spam. Hence every new message in your inbox becomes a potential mountain lion or poisonous berry. Not knowing which is which causes stress and pressures you to get through it all. Suddenly you're looking at 15 emails instead of working on your report. Addicted to the Ping Which leads to the addictive behavior connected with email, or with putting out fires that aren't even on your to-do list. Handling and organizing all these little pings on our attention creates dopamine in the brain, making them highly addictive. It's not surprising then that approximately 28% of our working day is spent interacting with our email. We simply love the rush of going through new messages and sending off responses ASAP; it makes us feel productive. In actuality, the time-suck it's sapping us of the energy we need to do our real job: creative problem solving. Cognitive Load, Overloaded! Handling all the potentially meaningful information in our inboxes and in our daily lives takes effort. And according to a study by Baba Shiv at Stanford University, there is a limit to our "cognitive load," the amount of mental effort needed to accomplish a specific task. Once this load is taxed, no energy is left to make good decisions. Clarify and Organize Your "Barbarians" So how does one deal with all this info without getting stressed mentally and physically? You have to set apart a time to clarify and organize these inputs before you can act on them. Allen's GTD method calls this the processing stage: you decide what you want to do with each idea. Is it urgent? What’s the goal? What’s your next action step? Are we just a wimpy generation? So to circle back to the original question: is information overload real? Absolutely. Though the real danger is the flood of potentially meaningful info we let in. Why not make it your New Year's resolution to adopt the GTD practice of processing all your input so you aren't overwhelmed by the barbarians at your gate?
New Year's Resolutions are Worthless Without These 4 Things
Most of us make work-related New Year's resolutions knowing we'll probably fail within the first four weeks. But we do it anyway. Because the beginning of a year is always an optimistic time, and working toward a promotion, or a salary raise, or inbox zero, or improving communication is a noble aim. But the numbers are against you. According to a survey of over 3,000 people conducted by British psychologist Richard Wiseman, 88% of all resolutions end in failure. So those New Year's resolutions you posted on Facebook and bragged about at the office holiday party? They're likely to fail — unless, by sheer force of will, you're able to do the following: 1. Cure yourself from your need for (or addiction to) instant gratification Kelly McGonigal, Stanford University health psychologist and author of The Willpower Instinct, posits that people who are having a tough time sticking to their resolutions aren't experiencing difficulty because their goals are flawed. Merely that it takes a lot of willpower to stick to long-term goals. This is particularly tough when we (and our entire culture) value the gratification of short-term desires. It's always a struggle between giving in to the "future self" versus the "immediate self." TIP: Keep your "future self" in mind. Remember the kids put to the marshmallow test? If you can decide against instant gratification and tolerate temporary discomfort, you will be more fully able to stick to resolutions that have long-term benefits. 2. Remove yourself from situations of temptation And speaking of the marshmallow test... original researcher Walter Mischel figured out that the children who were successfully able to delay gratification weren't wired any differently from the unsuccessful kids. They simply adopted a better strategy, something Mischel dubbed the “strategic allocation of attention.” The kids stayed under the table, or covered their eyes, or tied and retied shoelaces — any activity to get their minds off the marshmallow or to obscure it from their view. TIP: To resist the temptation of your own personal "marshmallow," you have to remove yourself from its presence, or from situations which trigger you wanting it. 3. Stick with it for at least 66 days Roy Baumeister's book Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength suggests concentrating on only one goal at a time. Baumeister explains that willpower is like a muscle that we can exhaust, so you have to concentrate on one goal at a time for success. But alongside this, every resolution boils down to reprogramming your mind to adopt a new habit. And researchers say that new habits require an average of 66 days (or a little over two months) to fully form. In fact if the behavior is particularly complex, it may take up to eight months! TIP: Don't throw in the towel after just a week. Give your new habit an actual chance to make a change in your life. Learn more from our Slideshare about productive habits: 4. Limit the amount of stuff you're memorizing In an experiment led by Baba Shiv at Stanford University, two groups were tasked with memorizing a number. One group was given two digits, and a second group was given seven digits. Then they had to decide between eating a slice of chocolate cake or a bowl of fruit salad. The students who had to memorize the seven-digit number were nearly twice as likely to choose the cake as students given two digits. It's a concept called cognitive load — the idea that the total amount of mental effort (the need to memorize extra numbers, for example) saps our ability to do other things, such as resist high calorie desserts or stick to resolutions. TIP: Instead of keeping stuff in your brain, unload your ideas and to-do items into a trusted organizational system that you can refer to anytime you need. It's a fundamental principle of David Allen's Getting Things Done (GTD) productivity method. What makes your New Year's resolutions worthwhile? What advice do you have for sticking to your resolutions? Hit the comments and help us out by letting us know what keeps you in line after the new year!
30-Day Digital Detox: Curb Your Tech Addiction to Stay Productive
We need to look at our routines and audit our habitual usage of our apps and digital products. Do they aid us in living better quality lives? Or do they harm our ability to focus and function? Here's how to accomplish a digital detox so you can reclaim some of that time back from your apps.
Beware of These 7 Productivity Myths (Work Management Roundup)
It's the day before Christmas and all through the hall, Not a worker is working, they're home one and all. Yet here is our Roundup, it will never fail. Cause when you're done feasting, you'll check your email. ;) We hope you've subscribed to our blog's daily feed So you get our blog posts — "Hey, a new thing to read!" If it helps you work better, our job here is done. So Happy Holidays to everyone! 7 Productivity Beliefs You Should Ignore (Fast Company): The problem with a lot of the productivity advice you read online? It's never a one-size-fits-all solution. Here are 7 productivity myths that experts say we should avoid, and why. How to Avoid the Most Costly Onboarding Mistakes (Entrepreneur): Matt Straz outlines four of the most expensive onboarding mistakes, including how to fix them in order to get the most from new hires. 5 Lessons Learned in Project Management for 2016 (Girl's Guide to PM): Elizabeth Harrin shares five hard-learned lessons from 2015 that should guide your projects into the coming year. How Product Hunt Really Works (Medium): One entrepreneur shares his personal research into successfully launching on Product Hunt. According to him, it's not the number of votes your product gets, it's still who you know. A Manager at Google Wrote the Perfect Email on Time Management (theHustle.com): An important reminder to all knowledge workers: you have to carve out deep pockets of quiet work time (aka "Make Time") on your calendar. Or else you'll be in meetings all day. More Work Management Reads Go Try This: How to Make Every Piece of Content SEO Friendly (Content Marketing Institute) 17 Productivity Tools Inbound Marketers Need (Sea Monster Marketing) How To Get The First 1,000 Users For Your Startup (Roy Povarchik) Sally Hogshead on How To Be Fascinating (Entrepreneur On Fire Podcast) Think About This: Why We Unsubscribed 250K People From HubSpot's Marketing Blog & Started Sending Less Email (Hubspot) Launching a Google App the Startup Way (Medium) Working Remotely: More Efficient or More Distracting? (Smarter Office Blog) The Uberization of Work...And How Businesses Can Leverage it to Scale Faster and Smarter (Cloud Factory) Browse The Work Management Roundup on Flipboard If you use Flipboard on your mobile device, then you can check out these links via The Work Management Roundup magazine. View my Flipboard Magazine.
Santa's Secrets to Christmas Productivity
It's been a question for centuries: How does Santa Claus get all the gifts ready and fly around the world to deliver every present on Christmas Eve? While you're sitting around roasting chestnuts on an open fire, Santa and his friendly helpers are busy counting down the days left until Christmas. We have the inside scoop on how he gets it all done in time — straight from ol' Saint Nick himself! A few decades ago, Santa was struggling with accountability and lost information. He had no way to assign work to his elves, and The List was missing some important notes. He almost ALWAYS had to check it twice. Ever since Santa switched to Wrike to manage Christmas, his crew has been able to dole out assignments, manage work leading up to their biggest milestone (Christmas Eve), and accurately track the lists of naughty and nice children. Here are his top 3 Wrike secrets to getting everything done before Christmas: 1. Build a Timeline to Help With Pre-Christmas Planning At the beginning of each year, Santa and his helpers map out their plans for the next 12 months on a Gantt chart. They schedule when The List needs to be finalized, as well as when gifts need to be completed leading up to their big delivery date on Christmas Eve. Santa turns to this feature when he needs a high-level view of the toy-making tasks to make sure nothing is falling through the cracks. Since Christmas Eve is set as a milestone, Santa can move around the order in which work is being done without accidentally pushing production past the Big Day. 2. Create a Folder and Identify Who's Been Naughty or Nice Santa creates The List right in Wrike. He creates a Wrike folder titled "The List" and each individual on The List is has their own task. The Christmas wishes of individuals are included in their task description. Santa also leaves comments on each task to record good behavior he's noticed throughout the year. When people on The List volunteer, help someone need, or maybe make peace with the in-laws, he'll write down their good deeds for future reference. His uses his Custom Statuses "Naughty" and "Nice" to mark The List accordingly — so be good for goodness sake! 3. Assign Workers to Build the Gifts Once The List is finished and Christmas is nigh, Santa begins assigning his helpers to their tasks. He creates a folder called "The Gifts" and makes tasks for presents requested on The List by people marked as "Nice". Each task is tagged with the name of the individual requesting it, and assigned to the elf that will build it for them. So there you have it! Santa's secrets are out and that time of the year is upon us. We hope these tips made you chuckle and delight, and help make your holidays a little more merry and bright. We only gave away a few of Santa's tricks in this post. What other Wrike features do you think he uses to manage Christmas? Share your creative ideas in the comments!
Download "Get Things Done with Wrike" (eBook)
You read our How to Set Up GTD Using Wrike post. You've been following the conversation around our interview with David Allen, father of GTD. Still can't sate your thirst for everything related to the popular "Getting Things Done®" productivity process? We don't blame you. GTD is a great method for organizing everything on your mind so that you can stop worrying about "what's next?" and focus your energy on completing work. A New GTD Guide Our productivity coach, Errette Dunn, created a step-by-step guide for setting up Wrike to help you implement your favorite productivity process. It introduces the GTD methodology, discusses the three key principles, and outlines the exact process for taking your project from concept to completion within Wrike. Our "Get Things Done with Wrike" eBook is now available as a FREE download. Share it with your productivity-loving co-workers so they can improve their workflow as well. Did you know...? GTD and Teams David Allen says that GTD is not something you can just apply to teams. Instead, it is a process and a mindset that you must teach to the individuals of a team in order to facilitate a more productive organization. If you want to improve your team's results, try out "Getting Things Done" and Wrike. Download our free GTD+Wrike eBook, and if you still aren't using our productivity-enhancing tool, don't wait any longer — you can start your own free Wrike trial today.
![A Fascinating Snapshot of Work-Life Balance Realities [Infographic]](https://web-static.wrike.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=900,format=auto/blog/content/themes/blog-v4-theme/dist/img/featured-image-placeholder.png?av=1e59a781eae484feae8c711131bb7991)
A Fascinating Snapshot of Work-Life Balance Realities [Infographic]
How often do you stay late in the office in order to get that last task completed? If you work extra hours once in a while, you’re not alone. Moreover, as our recent survey revealed, the majority is with you! Thanks to your valuable input, we gathered feedback on working habits and productivity from nearly 2,000 respondents. One of the most interesting things that we discovered is that as many as 87% of business owners, executives, managers, team members, and freelancers overwork. Here’s a digest of our survey’s other fascinating findings: Overworked, but not overloaded When we asked our respondents how much they overwork, the most popular answer (chosen by almost 40%) turned out to be 5+ hours weekly. However surprising it may sound, working extra hours seems to be generally taken quite lightly, as almost 38% of those who overwork say they are absolutely satisfied with their work-life balance. If we take a look at all the surveyed people, both those who overwork and those who don’t, a minority 11.5% said they frequently feel overloaded. The rest of our respondents seem to have found a work management secret that keeps them protected from the stress of overload. It's worth mentioning that this “happiness rate” seems to correlate with the respondent’s job position. Among team members, it’s more than half who don’t feel stressed with work at all. For business owners, the share is less than a third. It looks like with great responsibility comes greater stress. When productivity peaks Despite different responsibilities, our respondents across various organizational levels have some common things in their work styles. For example, 64% feel the most productive in the morning hours. Unexpected, but true — even freelancers, who often have a totally flexible schedule, voted the same as the majority. We also compared groups to find out who feels more overloaded (the “early birds” or the “night owls”) and we discovered that the share of stressed workers is much higher among the latter. Almost 27% of night owls admitted to feeling overworked quite often, while just 10% of early birds share this stress. Productivity catalysts vs. Productivity killers Increasing productivity requires some extra motivation. What are those factors that drive us the most at work? According to our survey results, the three leading efficiency motivators are: A sense of responsibility A good mood A possible reward Being on a deadline is often considered to be a stress factor. However, more than 54.6% of our respondents find deadlines inspiring for their productivity. Perhaps because they help to beat procrastination, which, along with unexpected interruptions, was listed as one of the most dangerous productivity killers. A picture is worth a thousand words, especially when it comes to stats. To review all of these survey results and more at a glance, check out our new infographic with the rest of our fascinating findings. And don’t forget to share it with your colleagues! Last, but not least: Thanks to your very active participation, this survey turned out to be a blast! We really appreciate your input and, as we promised, we did a drawing of 10 stylish Coffee Joulies among everyone who took part in the survey. Congrats to the lucky winners: Jerry Schmidt (CivicPlus), Ayana Hastings (EmbanetCompass), Steve Fishman (Volunteers of America Michigan, Inc.), Wally Arms (Crescent Inc.), Pascal Condouret (Royal Canin), Noah Sodano (Propaganda Labs), Colleen Fyfe (PARMA Recordings), Spenser Baldwin (Snap Agency) and two winners who asked us to keep their names private. Wrike’s Santa is already on the way with the prizes!
Take Our Survey on Mobile Productivity & Enter to Win!
These days, workers turn to mobile devices to get things done and increase work productivity while on the go. In 2014, 36% of smartphone users and 45% of tablet users had purchased at least one app for their mobile device. But are these apps actually making us more productive, or are they just eating our money? We need your help in exploring how mobile devices help or hurt work productivity, and how today's mobile productivity trends are expected to fluctuate over the next few years. You're invited to share your valuable input in this 5-minute anonymous survey to help us all better understand mobile productivity and usage. After the survey period concludes, we'll be publishing a full report of the results, so you can also see what's happening in the world of mobile productivity — and perhaps adjust your business plans accordingly. Click here to take the survey now! What's more, you can enter to win an iPad! In the spirit of holiday generosity, we're giving out an iPad to one lucky participant who completes the questionnaire. Just make sure to fill out the contact form at the end of the survey to register to win! The survey will be open until: December 23, 2015. Thanks in advance for participating, and we hope you look forward to reading the results!
7 Ways to Bring the Holiday Spirit to Your Office
With the holidays quickly approaching, it's becoming more and more difficult to stay focused in the office. Instead of avoiding the holiday distraction and enforcing maximum productivity across your team, it's important to come to terms with the fact that the holidays are a busy time, and the month of December will probably not be the most productive month. *gasp*
