The Project Management Approach to a More Effective Workday

We go to work Monday through Friday. Most mornings we sit down at our desks, power up the computer and watch dozens if not hundreds of emails populate our inbox.  Next, a quick check of the calendar and we see all the meetings scheduled for the day. After a series of interruptions derails any progress on the day’s goals, we find ourselves wondering how we can work effectively in this type of environment.

Many of the surveys and studies over the past decade describe a similar image of the typical knowledge worker.  A 2014 Harris Poll, done on behalf of AtTask, found that employees at 1000-person companies or larger spend only 45 percent of their time on their primary work activities. The rest of their time is spent on managing interruptions, email, meetings, and mundane tasks not directly relating to their job.  This data highlights the lack of productivity facing today’s workers.  Rather than an indictment on our workplaces, this should be a wakeup call for the opportunity to improve how we all work. If productivity improvement equals growth, then companies must take the bold step towards growing through workforce enhancements.

Organizations, through executive leadership, should focus on improving workplace productivity and helping people work more effectively.  Because most work is a series of mini-projects and tasks, leaders should focus on promoting engagement and collaboration. When given a task or a deliverable, think of it as a mini-project to manage, and then think about who inside the organization you will need for insight, expertise and collaboration.

Using project management techniques will allow you to work more effectively and efficiently. Engaging colleagues and collaborating with other experts guarantees better results than working alone, as your peers are likely to suggest improvements and provide constructive feedback along the way.  Working together in real time, not through endless strings of emails, helps maintain focus and create accountability. It invites people to contribute. Tasks and deliverables are completed faster.  Engagement allows more people to make an impact and feel connected to the process.

Changing the cultural mindset is necessary, but providing tools to take advantage of the new way to work is required. Nurturing individual strengths for the collective good improves the transfer of knowledge in an organization.  Communication and collaboration tools allow for the conversation, discussion and overall content to reside in one place.  When collaboration occurs, information is easily accessible.  No one has to hunt for the most current version of a file or wait for someone to act.  Furthermore, if people are collaborating and solving problems together from the beginning, there is less need for meetings.  Fewer meetings free everyone to focus on real work.  Discussions and exchange of information have taken place organically throughout the process.

Working effectively also occurs outside the office, conference room or headquarters.  With remote employees and key contacts spread across great distances, knowledge workers need to be able to communicate and collaborate with colleagues whenever and wherever they are located.  Collaborating in real time regardless of time zone or geographical distance is the new normal.  The most productive organizations recognize it is not who does the work, or where the credit should go, but how to promote collaboration so the best work gets done.