5 Reasons Your Task Management System Isn't Working For You As An Online Business Owner

I know it must be so frustrating.

You’re drowning in disorganisation so you finally decided to take the plunge and get some software to help you organise. You’ve done HOURS of research on everything out there…

Asana… Trello… Monday… Planner… Notion…

And finally settled on one that you trust to help you stay organised… for real this time! But even after all that, you still don’t know what’s up and what’s down, and it actually feels like more work than before. Now you’re juggling projects AND having to keep this new tool up to date.

I’m not going to give you a long spiel about why one tool is better than the other, because you know your business best. What I will do is tell you all the mistakes I’ve seen (and sometimes made) people make using task management tools in my 6+ years as a project manager running complex engineering projects:

1. You update tasks for your team members

First things first. Your team members’ tasks are not your tasks. So why are you updating them?

I know it’s hard to rely on your team to keep their tasks up to date, but it is so crucial to step back and allow them to do this. Not only does it take admin off your plate, it fosters autonomy, accountability, and ownership in your team.

Tip: Allow your team members to take control of their reporting, you’ll be surprised at the results.

Bonus tip: If they aren’t updating their tasks, even after clear expectations have been set, be curious! Maybe the system isn’t working for them? Maybe they are overwhelmed? Maybe it’s something else? Find out! Then together you can come up with a solution that works for everyone.

2. You rely on team meetings to up date tasks

Your task board needs to be your day-to-day planner, your right-hand woman (or man), your first thing you check when you log in and last thing you check when you log off.

Tip: Daily check-ins confirm you’re working on the right things, at the right time.

3. You don’t have automatic reminders for your tasks

We’ve all been there… the task gets logged on the task tracker, an email pops up, and suddenly we’re off on a completely new task or direction. That task on the tracker? Forgotten. (Unless we’re using the tracker daily - tip #2 already coming in handy here).

If your planning tool doesn’t have automatic reminders set up… DO IT NOW!

Email reminders of upcoming tasks? Yes, please.

Email reminders to my team of their tasks? Even better!

Notified if a task is overdue? Always.

Tip: Ignorance is NOT bliss when it comes to delivering successful projects, use reminders to your advantage.

4. You don’t set true due dates for your tasks

Notice I said ‘true’ due dates. What I mean by this, is the due date which, if passed, will evoke consequences on the project delivery.

Don’t just stick that report to be delivered next Friday cause you fancy it and if your team members delivers it the week after… no biggie, there are no consequences anyways.

Continually pushing out due dates, or allowing tasks to go overdue without consequences weakens team morale, motivation and confidence in the plan.

Tip: Set your due date when the task TRUELY needs completing. Communicate the importance of this due date to your team members, gaining commitment and accountability.

5. You have too many tasks ‘in progress’ and not so many ‘completed’

Ever had the same task on your to-do list for weeks on end and it just keeps going and going and going, along with the other 10 things you said you’d get done but didn’t have the time?

Lack of priorities breeds overwhelm, lack of motivation and helplessness. That’s why you’re not getting things done.

Tip: Talk to your team members and set a maximum number of in progress tasks they can take on. Focus on getting things completed before taking on more work.

Small wins build up into a successful team and project delivery.

If you’re doing all these things right and still not getting what you need from your task management system, talk to me.

You might be in too deep to see where your true struggles lie, I can help with that.

https://calendly.com/enquiries-hornerservices/30min