Time management skills are very essential for a hectic work of a project manager. The coolest project managers always control themselves if they are positively busy for most of their working period and know how to eliminate time-waster activities. Inspire for Solutions Development is sharing the advice for project managers that our employees are using on daily basis.
Mind The 80/20 Percent Rule
The old yet good 80/20 rule (or known as Pareto Principle) is the theory that by accomplishing 20% of your working efforts, you can complete 80% of the actual working needs.
The clever value of this for a PM is that it reminds you to focus on only things that matter. Whether you resist it, or find this idea ridiculous, only 20% of your efforts are really important. Those 20% of your tasks produce 80% of your achievements. Your aim is to define and focus on those activities.
Avoid Dull Meetings
It's best to get rid of long team meetings where you just asking everyone to give a work update. These meetings have low impact and distract people. If you really feel the need to gather all team together, discuss risks, possible modifications and opportunities. Lead the team to manage solutions and generate new ideas. And for status updates you can use any task management tool.
As an additional and obvious yet not always obeyed rule: if you put an hour for the meeting, make sure you'll fit all the agenda in one hour.
Let The Work Flow
Avoid digging into the every task. Software development projects doesn't require project manager to get through the code level, let the developers do their part of work. You've chosen the good team already. Better concentrate on your own efforts and organize the working process without serious obstacles.
Manage, Not Work
Plenty of project managers involved deeply in "doing the work", and that's what makes their actual performance poorer. Take a breath, analyze this statement and understand it for yourself. Leading projects is a full-time job, and if you're distracted even for a short period, it can cause problems. It may seem great and affordable to do a couple of tasks when a deadline is approaching, but keep this for others while you manage the project.
Do Your To-Do
Multitasking is a modern-day problem that can exhaust you greatly from doing the tasks you really need to focus at. Writing a daily to-do list fixes you on striving for your objectives. Removing your tasks, or putting ticks of accomplishment in your list brings you quite an awarding feeling of achievement and inspires for further activities.
Summary
Time management is a primary skill for project managers. If you can't cope with your own day, how can you lead your teams? Ask yourself everyday what you personally have done to push the project forward. Write a plan for your next day, what you'll do to see your project continues according to the planned path. Divide your time, plan your resources with a light touch and keep in touch with teams effectively. With some personal planning project success should come smoother.