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Organize your day from start to finish with task management

Your professional to-do lists seem to get longer every day, and you’re adding tasks more often than crossing them off.

 

From your workload to your team projects, daily task management is incredibly challenging—even for those who consider themselves quite organized. With so much to do and be responsible for, it’s no wonder business owners frequently talk about experiencing burnout. And with increased stress comes decreased productivity.

 

There is good news, however. From building intelligent to-do lists to coordinating multiple team assignments, there are many task management software solutions to help you stay on top of everything and get stuff done.

 

First, let’s look at two different types of task management tools: for your individual tasks, and for your team projects.

Task management for individual tasks

 

Digital to-do lists are ideal for managing your individual tasks at work, such as completing a peer feedback form or finishing a presentation. They help you create lists and group tasks, set up reminders and due dates, and receive personalized suggestions to update your daily items.

 

To-do lists also help you to break down your tasks into more manageable pieces. For example, if you have a business trip booked, your digital to-do list may include a range of tasks and sub-tasks, such as preparing for your meeting (writing an agenda, printing a presentation), creating an itinerary (researching the destination, selecting your accommodations), packing, and arranging a shuttle ride to the airport.
 

Task management for teams

When you manage a team, you often need to know what everyone is working on at a moment’s notice. Task management software can automatically visualize task status into pie and bar charts, help you assign and track the progress of each task, and ensure projects get done on time. Attach files and documents to each task, and your team will know exactly where to look for the right information before starting a new assignment.

The ideal task management solution helps you create and name a plan, identify the collaborators, and set up “buckets” to sort out tasks. It also offers many features to simplify administration, including adding, removing, or giving plan ownership to team members and setting up email notifications.

For example, if you want to run a focus group, you’ll create tasks and sub-tasks, including securing a location to hold your event, finding focus group candidates (putting out a call for participants, vetting and confirming candidates), booking a caterer (researching prices, selecting the menu), and holding the focus group (moderating, note-taking). Meanwhile, as the business owner, you’ll assign each task to your team members.

Seamless syncing with other collaboration tools

Though modern tools can help you stay more productive than ever before, it often becomes challenging to prioritize your workload and manage your day effectively with tasks scattered across your calendar, inbox, and sticky notes.

Consider task management software that can seamlessly sync with other productivity and collaboration tools you commonly use throughout the day, such as word processors, spreadsheets, or email.

Task management software is a powerful solution for whenever you need to quickly navigate individual and team tasks. As more companies are moving to cloud-based environments, task management that fosters collaboration and data sharing is becoming essential for the modern workplace.

Moreover, some tech tools use analytics and insights with apps to proactively help you work smarter.

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Task management tools can keep you organized during your day by helping you:

1. Combine individual and team tasks

Being able to easily view everything you’re responsible for in one place is the epitome of connected task management. Consider team collaboration and connectivity hubs, such as group chat software, with task management features that bridge the gap between individual and team tasks.

A collaboration hub makes it easy to display all your tasks in rows and columns, filter them by due date and priority, and make multiple changes at the same time. You’ll also get notifications on your desktop and mobile apps when you receive urgent assignments.

A screenshot of Microsoft Teams task management interface with various tasks listed.

With the ability to see everything side by side, you may realize certain timelines need to be adjusted. Tracking changes across all apps is easy when your to-do list and team task management apps are properly synced.

2. Visualize individual and team tasks in your calendar app

Between individual and team assignments, you may often find yourself juggling multiple deadlines. If you don’t update or sync your calendar, your day can quickly become confused and disorganized.

The good news is that some task management tools allow you to import your team schedule to your work calendar app. Scheduled tasks, progress, and a checklist summary visible next to your individual plans can help you prioritize your time more efficiently and effectively.

3. Convert emails into tasks automatically

You’ve probably never thought that your email inbox could be a task manager, but many emails you receive will request you to do something. Given the high volume of messages sent every day, however, it’s easy to forget or even lose actionable items.

Seamless integration between task management software and email helps you automatically create individual or team tasks whenever an email gets flagged in your inbox. Ideally, you’ll be able to prioritize each task and add reminders and due dates, without having to switch applications.

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Technology has completely changed the way we live and work. As our workforce and family life expectations continue to evolve, new tools are emerging to help us accomplish more and worry less.

Learn more about the latest Microsoft 365 solutions, including a suite of apps and task management tools to help you stay organized.

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Business Insights and Ideas does not constitute professional tax or financial advice. You should contact your own tax or financial professional to discuss your situation.

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