How to Manage Working Time and Project Progress Effectively and Thoroughly

Vũ Khôi

Author at Wotech Electronics Blog

The relentless pace of modern life makes 24 hours a day feel never enough. Especially when multiple projects run at once, the lack of a unified process can trigger "crises" that stall collective progress or delay it indefinitely. That's when time management skills become the master key that helps individuals and businesses improve productivity so they stay in control and ready for the next plans. So how do you manage working time optimally? The following article lays out the indispensable methods for managing time effectively in today's business environment.

What does effective time management look like?

Time management comprises the process of planning and allocating time sensibly to complete set goals. Given the same limited pool of time, some people always seem to have enough to finish whatever they want, while others constantly struggle and scramble to complete any task. Effective working-time management therefore goes beyond planning — it also shows in how you set goals and detail the steps to achieve them.

To complete work effectively and save time, make sure your goals are "right" from the very first stage. One of the most effective ways to set short-term goals is to apply the S.M.A.R.T principles:

• Specific: When setting a goal, be specific about what needs to be accomplished. The more detailed and clear the goal, the easier it is to achieve.

• Measurable: The goal must be measurable. This lets you track and judge whether the work has actually hit the target.

• Attainable: The goal must realistically lie within your ability to achieve.

• Relevant: The goal must be appropriate. Does it fit the resources you have? Is it relevant to and does it directly affect the company's business results?

• Time-bound: Each goal needs a specific time frame for each phase, each deliverable, and each sub-goal.

Examples of goals that meet the S.M.A.R.T criteria:

• Achieve 1 million USD in revenue from selling product A on e-commerce channel B within the first 3 months of 2021.

• Attract an average of 500,000 visits/month to the mobile version of e-commerce channel A, with a 5% conversion rate, in Q1 2021.

In general, there are many ways to set goals and manage work. But to manage time effectively, you need to grasp the importance of planning execution time, building workflows, and using the right skills, tools, and supporting software to complete work with the highest possible productivity.

Why is time management necessary?

Why, with the same amount of time, can some people work two or even three times as productively as others? Why can some people hold a full-time job while also running several small side businesses? The simple secret lies in time management skills.

It creates motivation and boosts productivity

Having a detailed daily, weekly, or monthly work plan with tasks arranged logically and scientifically gives you an optimized schedule so work flows more smoothly. Moreover, knowing how to manage your time adds motivation. Instead of vaguely wondering what to do, everything is already organized and planned, keeping you in control and leaving you time to be creative at work.

It makes collaboration more effective

Effective time management at work not only lets you track your own progress but also helps you assess your personal productivity. From a team perspective, knowing each other's progress makes coordination between individuals and teams far more seamless. For example, the Marketing team needs to meet you to discuss next quarter's product launch. Effective time management helps you identify free slots so both sides can schedule the meeting. Internal operations consequently run more smoothly.

It limits procrastination and reduces work pressure

Poor time management usually goes hand in hand with last-minute scrambles or improvising work "for the sake of appearances". This not only puts pressure on the individual but also indirectly produces impulsive, ill-considered decisions due to a lack of time to weigh and evaluate issues during a project.

So setting reasonable, specific deadlines and clearly defined goals helps you curb procrastination and stay in control of your daily work.

Steps for managing time and project progress

To manage project time effectively, every employee or manager should follow these 4 basic steps:

• Step 1: Define your goals for the day, week, or month and list the tasks needed to achieve them.

• Step 2: Identify the resources required to complete the work. Include: how big is the workload? Who do you need to work with to get it done? How much time should you budget for the assigned tasks?

• Step 3: Sequence the work and set concrete outcomes. For example: priority order, deadlines, and the achievements to reach.

• Step 4: Execute the plan as laid out and evaluate the results after each day, week, and month.

At each step, you can use tools or time management apps to simplify operations and match your personal working style. What matters is honing your time management skills so you know how to leverage time management tools at work.

How to manage working time effectively

There are many tips for managing time thoroughly. However, here are the 3 indispensable methods for managing time effectively in an office environment:

Set priority levels for work

When drawing up a work time-management plan, the first thing to do is determine the priority of the assigned tasks. To set these priorities, establish criteria that answer the question: What counts as a high/medium/low priority task?

For example, high-priority work is work that must be completed immediately and communicated to superiors or partners; low-priority work can be postponed and you can complete it anytime yourself.

Setting priorities helps you organize work more logically and scientifically and never miss an important task in your daily work.

Eliminate distractions

Whenever you try to focus on work, there will always be distractions: colleagues' "favors", calls from customers, or losing focus while working individually during office hours. To limit distractions, learn to say "no" to tasks outside your personal responsibility and build self-discipline to control your focus and eliminate "dead" time.

Also, think twice before "multitasking" at work. Research shows that multitasking splits your attention and lowers overall productivity. So instead of multitasking, complete each individual task effectively.

Use working time management software

Nowadays, using management software to automate working-hour schedules and track the progress of individuals and entire projects is nothing new to businesses. With the support of ERP resource planning software, companies save a great deal of time and cost in managing employees' working time.

Specifically, ERP software is a multi-function software solution that makes it easy to collect, store, manage, and analyze business operations. Thanks to ERP, each employee can easily track their team's progress; meanwhile, managers can closely monitor employees' working hours and coordinate projects more effectively.

Managing working time effectively with SimERP software

The SimERP software solution system combines many modules covering all of a business's functions, including working time management with the Timesheet Module, the Project Module, and the Employees (HR) Module.

With the SimERP solution suite, businesses can not only easily manage employees' working time but also divide the workload effectively across departments through other integrated SimERP apps such as Sales, Expenses, Recruitment, and Appraisals.

Advantages of SimERP software

• A comprehensive software solution: Handles a wide range of business needs such as project management, HR management, e-commerce, CRM, manufacturing, inventory, and more.

• Easy-to-use interface: Diverse functionality with a minimal, user-friendly interface.

• Flexible module structure: Each process or function is handled by a separate module, making it easy to meet a company's specific business requirements.

• Easy integration with Magento — the leading eCommerce platform.

Summary

In short, time management is a key factor that directly affects the execution of any project. Therefore, adopting an enterprise resource planning solution like SimERP is an important step that helps businesses simplify time management processes and track project progress more effectively. The software currently comes with a free 30-day trial. Contact SimERP to register for the trial and experience the software!

Related articles