Posted by COURTNEY
Do you manage multiple projects in your job? If you answered yes, keep on reading; this blog is for you! As a project manager at a marketing agency, I manage multiple projects at once for multiple clients. I know it can be stressful but the following tips have helped me stay on track in each project. I hope they can help you as well.
Define Goals, Roles, Expectations
From the very start of every project making sure there are goals, roles, and expectations. This is a big part of keeping everything on track. Hold a team meeting at the start of every new project and inform all the team members on what the project is, what portion each team member will have in the project and at what date they need their part done by. By setting these goals, roles, and expectations it then holds the team accountable to their part of the project and keeping things on track.
Write a Priority List
One of the best things you can do is write a priority list and follow it. If you don’t like manually writing out a list try checking out a project management tool to help you. Here at Pulse Marketing, we use a project management site called Asana that helps us track and manage every project. It is super easy to create specific tasks for each team member. Within each task, we can then put all the information they would need for that certain task as well as set a specific due date. There is also satisfaction in checking something off and moving onto the next task, whether it’s scribbling a task out on paper or checking it off in asana. Seeing the tasks you have to do that day will help you stay on track and keep you focused.
Communication
A huge part of projects is communication. This goes for everyone in the team whether you’re the project manager, designer, copywriter, etc. If you have a question, ask it. Don’t know where something is, ask. If you need more information regarding the project, ask. If you don’t think you are able to get something done on time, ask for help. Everything comes down to communication especially when multiple projects are in play at once and keeping them on track.
Avoid Distractions & Stay Organized
If you haven’t read our blog, Avoiding Distractions At Work, you should right now! In addition to that blog, how do you plan on being productive if your calendar is never in order and your desk is overflowing with papers? You will get a lot more done and feel less stressed if your desk is neat, and your inbox and calendar aren’t overflowing with unread emails and thousands of meetings. Keep your meetings either in the morning or later in the afternoon. That way you can take the rest of the time to focus and get the things done you need to. If you are constantly being pulled away hour after hour into a meeting there isn’t enough time in between to get your focus back before you are pulled into another meeting. The same goes for your email. Set a time to check it in the morning, the middle of the day and then once again towards the end of the day. If you let every little thing grab your attention you won’t get very far in the things you need to get done. Avoiding those distractions as best you can, will help in the day to day tasks.
Defining goals, roles, expectations, writing a priority list, communicating with the team, and avoiding distractions while also staying organized are big key factors in how I manage multiple projects at once without losing track of certain projects or getting behind. I hope these tips can be just as helpful to you in managing your projects. Comment below if you have any other tips or tricks that work for you.