Managing workflow?

bigdave

bigdave

Well-Known Member
At the moment I've got too much work on. It's a nice (and somewhat novel) position to be in but one of the knock on effects is that I'm really struggling to manage my workflow effectively and it's becoming a pain in the arse! No matter how hard I try, I end up working on lots of little bits of jobs and feel I'm wasting time bouncing between projects without actually getting anything finished.

Can anyone recommend an affective way of managing workflow, to try and help me get on top of this crap way of working.
 
I usually block off the morning from 9.00 am to 12.00 pm to get through little bits of work that only take a few minutes. Most of the afternoon is then spent on larger projects and I make sure I stick to just them.

Organise your work into

What takes 5 minutes
What takes 30 minutes
What takes 1 hour or more

Then set up rules on what time of day you work on each part.

I usually block off Friday completely to review work or to catch up on my own bits and bobs, unless it's an absolute crisis, I don't work on many projects on Fridays.
 
bigdave said:
At the moment I've got too much work on. It's a nice (and somewhat novel) position to be in but one of the knock on effects is that I'm really struggling to manage my workflow effectively and it's becoming a pain in the arse! No matter how hard I try, I end up working on lots of little bits of jobs and feel I'm wasting time bouncing between projects without actually getting anything finished.

Can anyone recommend an affective way of managing workflow, to try and help me get on top of this crap way of working.
Click to expand...

Easiest solution = Give me a shout, I'll be glad to help lessen the workload. :icon_biggrin: Unless you're going to start talking html coding language to me, i'll quietly nod, smile and walk away back into my design corner. :icon_smile:
 
hankscorpio said:
I usually block off the morning from 9.00 am to 12.00 pm to get through little bits of work that only take a few minutes. Most of the afternoon is then spent on larger projects and I make sure I stick to just them.

Organise your work into

What takes 5 minutes
What takes 30 minutes
What takes 1 hour or more

Then set up rules on what time of day you work on each part.

I usually block off Friday completely to review work or to catch up on my own bits and bobs, unless it's an absolute crisis, I don't work on many projects on Fridays.
Click to expand...

This is similar to the approach I take. I'm not productive with regards to design first thing in the morning, so I spend this time sorting and replying to emails, etc whilst I ease myself into the day with a strong coffee. I decide what I need to do that day and make a list to help keep my mind free (I use Workflowy to list everything going on with my workload and business). Anything fiddly and small, get it done and out of the way when you start, and save the juicier stuff for when you're able to sit down and devote time to it. Shut down your mail client too and set your phone to silent so as not to be disturbed.

I find I'm most productive in the evenings, so this is actually when I tend to tackle most of my workload that requires my attention. There's less chance of a client ringing at this time too.
 
Make sure that you are prioritising. Remove distraction (where possible) and organise so that you are focussing on one project at a time (e.g. don't have an email inbox in your line of sight).

Learn which types of tasks you are most effective at completing at which times of the day.

Be realistic with time allocation.

Do not procrastinate.

That's a start.

At any moment I'm typically working on average 140 projects - it can be done.
 
I tend to work in the same way that Hankscorpio does. Start small & quick (then you've always achieved something!). Don't keep looking at your emails. I now have them set up on a different computer so I don't see them come in!

I have also just bought a whiteboard so that I can (oooooh, hold on, an email is just in!!!!).... have a quick visual reference to all that I have to do. Seems to work.
 
Before starting your work in office, you need to set priorities. Think, concentrate and complete only that work which has higher priorities. This way you can build your work flow.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top