We’ve all been there–trying to carry the weight of multiple projects, coordinate teams and manage complex schedules. All while balancing our personal lives.
And while your goal is to produce quality work, it can come at the cost of sacrificing some of your mental clarity, and often, a lot of your time.
Thankfully, there are easy ways you can simplify your project management to help you reach your goals–without the added stress.
Key Processes and Principles of Project Management
An important first step to any successful project is to identify the key processes and principles that guide them. By identifying a process that works best for you, you can easily navigate any project, making your job much easier over time.
According to Kissflow, there are 5 basic phases of project management:
- Initiation. Sometimes the hardest part of starting a new project is just that–starting! It’s important to define clear project goals and identify who will benefit from the project and the results you wish to see.
- Planning. Give yourself enough time to draft a well-intentioned scope of work so you have an easily accessible guide to track project performance, set budgets and define roles and responsibilities. This also lays a firm foundation for effective communication.
- Execution. Time to put in some elbow grease! Build your tasks by allocating and managing project resources. Ensure that each role and responsibility is carried out as planned in the project scope.
- Monitoring/Controlling. Tracking progress is key to understanding what’s going well and what could be improved. By adhering to the project plan and adjusting in a timely fashion when needed, you can prevent disruptions or time delays.
- Closing. You made it! Review your project deliverables and data to ensure your results are documented. Also, it’s always helpful to discuss with your team or partners what you’ve learned and how you can implement the processes in future projects.
By keeping these processes and principles in mind, you can better ensure the timely completion of any project so you can spend your time marveling at a job well done–instead of stressing over project deadlines.
Productivity Tools that Add Simplicity (and subtract stress!)
Whether digital or physical, there are dozens of simple tools you can use to increase productivity and make your workload more manageable. Here are just a few of our favorites:
- Project Management Software. Asana, Wrike, and Monday are three popular tools used by millions of employees every day to manage projects and communication with ease.
- Personal Management Tools. Managing your personal life can be just as stressful as your work life. 24me is a smart personal assistant that boosts productivity by syncing together all of your schedule-related items. Calendars, to-do lists, notes and even personal accounts are all easily accessible from one app so you can quickly and easily manage your time.
- Email and Messaging Programs. While systems like Microsoft Teams, Slack and Google Meet/Chat all work to keep us connected, they can also be a distraction. A new notification in the middle of a project can often derail your focus and delay productivity. In your email/chat settings, try to make a habit of turning off notifications or creating a “focus time” while in deep project mode. That way, you can dedicate your attention to working through a project–with minimal distractions.
Because we’re committed to streamlining the employee benefits process, here are a couple of our Clarity Solutions that also aid HR productivity and increase simplicity:
Tip! Remember to Maintain a Positive Work-Life Balance
While we all love the grind and hustle of a productive work schedule, we cannot forget how important it is to prioritize our personal lives.
The secret to finding the perfect balance between processes, principles and productivity is knowing when to turn off “work mode” and turn on “me-time” or “family time” or whatever fills your life with peace.
See how prioritizing a work-life balance can impact your workweek. You can start with something as simple as scheduling a couple of breaks throughout the day to regroup and practice self-care. Or, if you’re ready to take the next step, you can participate in our Simplicity Bingo Challenge! Complete just 12 easy tasks throughout the month of June and enter to win a Simplicity Prize Pack from Clarity. For more information, click here.
Simplicity in All Areas of Life
Managing projects and work can take its toll on all of us. But it doesn’t have to! By implementing a few easy processes, principles and productivity tools, you can achieve the simplicity you desire–and deserve!
At Clarity Benefit Solutions, we believe life is a journey; one that should be lived well. Our goal is to bring clarity into the challenging world of benefits and utilize technology to simplify benefit administration, reduce costs and empower our customers.
With a full suite of consumer benefits, we offer reliable solutions that ease pain points, provide clear direction, and lack unnecessary complexity. After all, simplicity is the key to living well. Simplicity is at the heart of our company and in the details of everything we do from championing National Simplicity Day to our Simply Smarter Approach to employee benefits. This mindset has led to thoughtful new ways for all of us to get the most out of our benefits and to ensure that people are ready for whatever comes their way.
Sources:
https://kissflow.com/project/five-phases-of-project-management/
