In the midst of so many commitments, responsibilities and information, finding ways to reduce the daily load of activities and focus your efforts on the strategic part of the business is essential so that you can plan more effectively and thus obtain more satisfactory results with your team. But how do you achieve this?
Know how to prioritize what's really important
We have four types of activities every day:
- Important and urgent: for some reason they have not been done at the right time and require extra attention to meet deadlines;
- Important and non-urgent: they are on schedule and allow for calm and well-planned action;
- Unimportant and urgent: these are the famous "fires" that we have to put out every day, and which take up precious time;
- Unimportant and non-urgent: these are the distractions that take our attention away.
If you stop to evaluate these four situations, you'll see that the ideal one is the second one, important and not urgent. The others should be avoided or delegated so that you can work with quality and without stress. So, create a prioritization matrix of activities within these four quadrants and start organizing your day-to-day with what really generates results for your work.
Delegate less complex activities
Knowing how to delegate activities is a characteristic that every manager should have. To delegate safely, know your team and each member's potential to carry out certain tasks, defining roles and responsibilities precisely. But be careful how you supervise these tasks: if you have delegated the activity, also delegate the responsibility for carrying it out and monitor progress, helping your team whenever necessary.
Automate processes
Many of the concerns we have on a daily basis are related to manual work, which takes time and doesn't bring effective results for the company, such as filling in documents, spreadsheets and issuing reports. For these activities, look for computerized systems that can concentrate all the information and generate management reports that help you make decisions, optimizing time and reducing stress.
Define objectives, goals and metrics
When you set objectives and performance targets for your team, you create a greater sense of belonging and generate greater commitment in people. But to know if everything is going according to plan, you also need to identify metrics or performance indicators. By knowing where the team needs to go, what steps need to be taken and keeping regular track of the results, you have the ideal tool for reducing your daily workload and getting your team to work in an integrated manner, focused on the same objectives as you.
Use technology to your advantage
Technology is becoming increasingly accessible and in tune with the needs of companies, so take a few minutes to find out what management possibilities you have using technological tools such as ERP systems, CRM, marketing automation, contact management and project management. Many of these tools are available in the cloud, such as strategic management software from Stratec, making it easy to access from anywhere, at any time.
Reducing the daily load allows you to think more calmly about the direction you want to take your company, so invest a few minutes in planning your schedule, involve the right people and make sure you have the right resources to optimize your time!
