Long and complex projects usually make workers procrastinate. They always think there’s more time to do it, and they start panicking a few days before the deadline. These projects are usually not specifically designed, they just include some basic guidelines such as “create website redesign”.
The problem with these projects is that they’re not giving enough direction to your employees. They are probably aware of what comes into the project, but unless they see it they won’t realize completely how long it will take them to complete it.
Which is why you should use a task time tracking software, and break down projects into smaller tasks. Let’s see how you can do it.
Benefits of Breaking Down Projects Into Smaller Tasks
There are several benefits to breaking down projects into smaller tasks. The first one is the fact that this kind of workflow is far less distracting. Think about it, when you give your employees one long task, and then you cut it out with a small one, they’ll switch to that small one knowing they can have it done in half an hour. But, once they finish that, they’ll need to get back to what they were working on, and potentially lose motivation to complete that task because it’s going to take them a long time.
Less distractions means more productivity, so you could say that’s another benefit of this system.
Additionally, everyone feels better when they complete 10 tasks in a day, than when they complete only one. Having more tasks means feeling accomplished each time you finish a task. Your employees feel the same way. So, when they cross something off of their to-do lists, they’ll feel more motivated to tackle the next thing.
How Can You Do This With a Task Time Tracker?
Time tracking tools can usually measure time on projects, as well as time on tasks. Therefore, when you get a new project, you should log into your tracker’s dashboard, create a new project, add employees who will work on it, and then create tasks for each of them.
Now, a good task time tracker will also let you create descriptions for every task (if necessary), set up the progress level, urgency level, as well as the due date.
Your employees will only see their list of tasks, and they’ll need to click the start/stop button when working on the particular task. Given that you’ve set due dates, and urgency levels, employees can easily prioritize and take care of the most important tasks.
We advise you to consult your employees before chopping down every project to mini tasks, because they’ll know the best way to separate them. Depending on your expertise, you might know how to break down marketing tasks, but have zero experience with development or design.
Why Is Tracker Your Best Option?
It’s not only about breaking down projects into small tasks. Time trackers can be helpful on many project-related fronts. You can use them to optimize budgets, time on projects, improve internal processes, productivity, employee evaluations, and so many other things.
So, if breaking down projects into tasks isn’t something you want to do, maybe one of the other perks will push you to test out this software and see what it can do for your company first-hand.