1. 11 Tips for <br />Effective Task Management<br />by<br />A1tasks<br />Task Management & Delegation Software<br />Copyright © Ebizindia Consulting Private Limited<br />www.A1Tasks.com<br />Effective Task Management: 11 Tips<br />Feeling overwhelmed with all the things you have to do and get done? These tips will put you on top of your task management nightmares and help you get things done – without stressing you out.<br />Note it down: The best thing you can do to manage your tasks easily is to note them down. When you have the things you need to do, stuck in your mind, the brain gets stressed out. Putting these down on the paper tells the brain that it does not need to bother about remembering them and you can complete them easily. You can use a simple piece of paper or sophisticated software to note these but everything works to relax your brain.<br />Delegate the tasks: You should delegate the tasks to your assistants or any other help when they can do it better than you, quicker than you or at a lower expense. You see, there is a certain income goal you have identified for yourself. This means your time is valued at a certain dollars per hour rate. If someone else can do it cheaper, get it done rather than do it yourself.<br />Handle the task once: When you see a task that can be done quickly like replying to a mail or filing a piece of paper, do it right away rather than see it on your to-do list again and list and spending more time thinking about it than it takes to do it.<br />Prioritize your tasks: You must definitely put a priority on each of your task and you should get around to doing the B level tasks only after completing all the A level tasks. If you don’t do this, you will end up doing what we call “spinning the wheels” and nothing important will get done.<br />Plan in advance: Make your to-do list the previous night. If you sit down to prepare your ‘things to do’ list the first thing in the morning, you will be wasting a lot of the productive time in thinking about what to do rather than doing that.<br />Block out chunks of time: You must block out decent sized chunks of time like 30 minutes or 60 minutes. You must take up something that requires undivided attention like writing the web copy, preparing an important quote, planning some marketing activity etc. Don’t take phone calls or let your colleagues disturb you during this period.<br />Take a break: You must take a break after every solid working block. See if you can get up, stretch a little or take a walk around the office. This will free up the jammed body and will give you fresh oxygen. When you sit down on your desk again, you will have a revitalised mind to tackle the next item.<br />Visualize the results: Some tasks require deft attention and might be a bit routine thereby making them appear boring. Visualize the results that you will get after you have completed it and you will be doing it with renewed vigour.<br />Collect the tools: When you start doing something, make sure that you have all the tools handy. You don’t want any breaks or problems while doing what you are doing. Imagine how it would feel when the ink in your pen runs out while you are writing in full flow.<br />Eat the frog: You should tackle the most challenging task first when you are fully charged up. No point doing the trivial stuff first and then taking up the monster when you are tired or bored.<br />Close that list: Once you have added enough items to your task list (things that you can do in about 80% of the day), stop adding any more items to this list. Everything else has to go in another list. If you happen to remember something super-urgent, swap out another item from the list before you add this. This way you won’t be a list chaser and will enjoy doing what you are doing.<br />Remember, you have A1Tasks to help you organize your tasks when you don’t want to load up your priceless brain.<br />