What are some strategies for improving accuracy in task management?

Setting clear and realistic goals helps in improving accuracy. Breaking down your goals also helps a lot. It makes you see it easier to tackle and less overwhelming which will ultimately increase accuracy.

In my experience, start small. Do NOT be too ambitious and create unrealistic goals. Start small and keep progressing incrementally. This way, you will also know what really works for you and what doesn't. And you won't upset your existing schedules.

Learn the Animals of the Time Management Jungle in order to be significantly more productive. There are 9 animals: #1 – Woolly Mammoths Still Roam the Earth! Don't write a task on your to-do list, like 'Move House'. Instead, start with the first practical step, 'Phone Estate Agent'. #2 - Beware of the 4-Minute Badger On average each person gets 121 emails per day, so we are distracted every 4 minutes from what we are doing when we have a sneaky look at whether the last email is urgent or important. Turn off email notifications. #3 – Stop Being a Cabbage Butterfly Moving from one cabbage to another nibbling each one. Start a task and complete it. For the other animals Google '9 Animals of the Time Management Jungle' and get productive!

I STRONGLY discourage any online tools or electronic gadgets. Use post-its, notepads, WRITE them down. Keep the most important tasks in front, and put other tasks on a separate page. Keep working on most important ones, strike them out. But please, please (one more please), try out written notes. Writing them down helps our brain retain it better, and striking the closed task boosts our confidence

Don't use digital for managing your tasks. Go old school and use pen & paper because in my experience of teaching time management for over 20 years if you use digital this is what happens: - You spend most of your time on formatting. - You don't get the endorphin rush of crossing something out. - You get the opportunity to get away from a screen to think about what you need to do. - You get a good connection between yourself and the paper and the pen. You'll know when you have achieved a really good flow with your time management of tasks when you have lists on paper, special pens that you use, and a connection with how you manage your time that feels in control. Start by having a daily to-do list and one that is thrown away each day.

As you keep improving on your task management, you will start seeing the results for yourself. In my opinion, you DON'T have to record each and everything, and create jazzy reports out of it. Its sheer waste of time and efforts.

Be your own critique. Compare yourself and your efficiency and productivity with your own self. How many tasks you were typically closing two years ago, vs now? How did you react to any new project or task earlier - were you scared, overwhelmed & feeling out of control? Are you more calm, composed and in control now? Keep competing with yourself.

OPEN your dam! There are many tasks which we generally do, that can easily be delegated to someone else without compromising on quality. Its just that we end up NOT delegating due to variety of (stupid) factors 1. We falsely think that no one else can do that job better than ourselves 2. We feel shy asking for help 3. We think others will think we are lazy, although we know we are already overworked and under pressure 4. We do NOT find the right tasks to delegate 5. We think other person is also busy (might not be the case always)

Who had a practical experience for cases when project lead doesn't know/doesn't care about setting goals with SMART framework? What were the consequences? How to mitigate?