5 Task Management Tips to Skyrocket Your Productivity

Feb 10, 2020

When was the last time you had a crack at task management?

DECA members are some of the busiest students I know! So, I understand firsthand how challenging it can be to manage tasks. While I’m not the best in the world at it, I’ve picked up a few tips that I want to share with you.

What is Task Management?

Task management is the practice of taking a task from creation to completion and managing it through the various stages.

Task management is important because it helps you be more productive. Sure enough, when you’re more organized and spend a little time planning, you’re able to accomplish much more.

It also helps with:

Setting priorities
Encouraging delegation
Ordering tasks for completion

My Favorite Five Task Management Tips:

Now that you know what task management is and why it’s important, I want to tell you about some of my favorite tips!

Use a Project Management Software
Spend Time Planning Daily
Coordinate Your Calendar with Your Results
Utilize the Eisenhower Matrix
Standardize Communication

Let’s explore these in a little more depth!

1. Use a Project Management Software

Project management software programs are so necessary! When implemented properly, they can help keep you on track. Here are two options:

Both of these have free plans, which is great for high school and college students starting out that need a little organization.

2. Spend Time Planning Daily

A recent study showed that 76% of people who write down their goals are more likely to achieve them.

That’s compared to 43% of people achieving their goals that didn’t write them down. That’s a massive 30% increase!

When you plan, write your tasks and your goals down. It can even help to say them out loud. A simple to-do list can be great for accomplishing what you set out to.

3. Coordinate Your Calendar with Your Results

A lot of people plan their calendars and to-do lists according to the tasks that they want to complete.

For example, let’s say you’re competing in a prepared event and have to write a 15-page paper. So, for 1 hour each day, you put “Work on DECA paper.”

Instead, put 1 hour on your calendar with the caption “Complete SWOT Analysis section.”

I guarantee you that if you plan based on results and not actions, your productivity will soar! It forces you to come out of the time block with the result, no matter how hard you must push to get there.

4. Utilize the Eisenhower Matrix

The Eisenhower Matrix is a nifty little tool that leads you to massive results.

The Eisenhower Matrix creates 4 boxes to classify tasks as:

Urgent and important (do it now)
Important and not urgent (schedule a time to do it)
Not important and urgent (delegate it)
Not important and not urgent (delete it)

Go in that order when you plan tasks and you will be amazed by how your high-priority items are knocked off your to-do list!

5. Standardize Communication

Communication is crucial for task management, especially when the deliverables are dependent upon multiple people.

With clients, I’ve used Slack, Voxer and email.

Slack is a great tool for having channels to discuss what needs to get done. It’s kind of like GroupMe but for teams.

If you prefer voice chats, Voxer is a great way to have simultaneous conversations with different people, but it’s not as isolated as Slack is.

And, email is one of the standards when it comes to communication. However, it can lag with response times, which is why I prefer a more dynamic communication means.