Two comprehensive answers bundled into one question: how to be a better planner and organizer coming with tips to maximize your productivity in whatever sense it may be needed. Being a perfect planner and organizer can lead and create one big step to achieving impressive results in the running of an organization, company or institution.
The popular saying which goes thus, “if you fail to plan, you (definitely) plan to fail“, speaks a lot about the usefulness and absolute effectiveness of planning. Speaking of effective planning is like speaking of outright formal organization. The organization of ideas and plans yields the fruitfulness that at the end supplies the benefits of productivity.
Essence of Planning
Here are the importance of planning in the struggle to achieve the anticipated results:
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Gives you direction
Action without direction is useless. But when you have a clear goal in mind, you can outline the journey your company will take. The planning stage is the time to define your goals. With this direction clearly laid out, your employees can stay motivated and productive.
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Outlines your desired outcomes
Keeping the big picture in mind makes it easy to break long-term goals down into smaller daily or weekly tasks. Your employees will know exactly what you expect from them, and there will be no chance you’ll miss the mark!
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Saves Time
Planning effectively before working on a project gives you and your team next-step knowledge throughout the project’s duration. As a result, you won’t lose momentum trying to decide which task to focus on next.
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Creates Accountability
Effective planning outlines who’s responsible for what at the start of the project, so this information is always clear to your employees.
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Determines your primary KPIs
Key performance indicators (KPIs) tell you when the company is moving in the right direction and when it needs realignment. Project planning helps you outline your primary KPIs, allowing you to easily track your progress as soon as the work begins.
Planning Tips to Achieve Productivity
In the race to securing fat productivity, that is, how to be a better planner and organizer, one needs careful planning and accurate focus on those planning tips that will better sustain the expected productivity:
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Know Priorities
When planning your day, week, or month, keep your priority list in mind to ensure the important and urgent project tasks are completed first. Urgency refers to how quickly you need to complete a task. Importance refers to the benefit the task brings once it’s completed.
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Schedule Milestones
Staying on schedule is one of the biggest concerns for team leaders and project managers. Make it easier for your employees to meet a project’s deadline by dividing the project into several milestones or mini-deadlines. Scheduling milestones means you’ll know ahead of time if your final deadline is unrealistic. This allows you to reprioritize and adjust your expectations as needed.
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Use a Planner
Whether you prefer paper or digital, a planner is your catch-all space for to-dos, priorities, goals, and schedules. It helps you keep track of what’s expected of you and what you expect from your team.
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Time-test Your Goals
Despite most people claiming to understand the benefits of goal setting, 80% never set goals. Goals give you a sense of direction and purpose by defining your priorities, keeping you on schedule, and helping you focus on the tasks that matter. Setting short- and long-term work goals for your team helps them stay on track.
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Review Your Responsibilities
Make sure you set aside time to look at your to-do list and calendar every day. This helps ensure you stay on schedule and on top of your responsibilities. Set aside time to review your plans weekly or monthly. Ask yourself whether your plans are helping you reach those goals or distracting you from your core motivation, and make adjustments as necessary.
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Identify the Importance of Dependency
A dependency is a relationship between two tasks that depend on one another’s progress. Put more simply, a finish-to-start dependency means that you can’t begin working on Task B until you’ve completed Task A. Knowing your dependencies before you start scheduling project tasks, you can prevent your team from getting stuck halfway through their to-do list because they’re waiting on someone else to finish something.
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Ask Questions and Learn Your Culture
Learning your unique work patterns helps you maximize your productivity. When you know how you work, you can better schedule your time to match your natural productivity rhythm. Do mid-day meetings distract you and drain your energy? Schedule all your meetings on one day of the week.
