Managers are often in a constant juggle, trying to balance their workload while ensuring their team remains productive and motivated. Between email and meetings, projects and addressing the needs of others, it sometimes feels impossible to get everything done without burning out. To truly attend to it all, managers need an integrated approach to workload management that saves time and streamlines activities.
Leslie Shreve, a workload management expert and founder of Productive Day, shared insights on how her system, Taskology®, which helps professionals increase productivity and efficiency by as much as 300%. Here, Leslie explains her strategies for managing tasks, time, email, and information to create a productive workflow that is less stressful and more effective.
The Core of Your Workday is Task Management
Task management is not just about checking items off a list. It’s about creating an actionable plan that drives progress. Leslie emphasizes the difference between project management and task management, a common misunderstanding amongst managers. While project management focuses on larger deliverables and milestones, task management breaks down these projects into small, actionable steps that are more achievable.
According to Leslie, tasks should be “teeny tiny” action steps that move you forward in your day. When tasks are too large, they can become overwhelming, leading to procrastination. Managers should encourage their team to break tasks into the smallest possible steps. For example, instead of writing “complete presentation,” a more actionable task would be “draft the first three slides for the presentation.”
To get started, managers can implement the “Start, Continue, Finish” method. When creating tasks, use these verbs to guide action:
Start a new activity (e.g., “Start the outline for the report”).
Continue ongoing work (e.g., “Continue editing the draft”).
Finish a specific component (e.g., “Finish reviewing the quarterly budget”).
By focusing on these steps, employees can feel a sense of accomplishment throughout the day, reducing the stress that comes from facing large, intimidating tasks.
We Must Protect and Save Time
Effective time management is more than time blocking or time boxing. Leslie’s approach is to protect time in the calendar proactively and save time by streamlining daily processes.
Protecting Time
Leslie recommends managers schedule recurring time blocks for focused work, ensuring these time slots don’t get swallowed by meetings or interruptions. For instance, setting aside one to one-and-a-half hours in the morning and again in the afternoon allows for uninterrupted focus time. While it may be challenging at first, consistently protecting time helps employees stay on track without having to resort to working overtime.
To make this approach effective, managers should communicate these protected time blocks to their team, setting clear expectations that while the manager may be unavailable during these blocks, they will still be accessible at other times.
Saving Time
Time can be lost in small increments throughout the day, such as searching for documents or switching between tasks. This is why a single task system is essential that allows you to easily see what tasks need to be completed.
Leslie also suggests implementing an information management system that enables you to find everything you need quickly.
Information Management Impacts Time Management
Leslie points out that losing time searching for information is a hidden productivity killer. A well-structured information management system ensures that reference materials, contact information, and other essential data are readily accessible.
To do this, you’ll need to standardize file naming conventions with your team so that no matter what you’re searching for, you’ll easily be able to identify the right document. The same is true for file structures whether digital or physical. Group related files into folders and use subfolders for specific projects or time periods to keep things logical. Lastly, Leslie insists that maintaining contact information by storing details in a contact management system will save hours over a lifetime.
By taking a minute up front to transfer information, add a task to your to-do list, or properly name and store a document, you’ll set yourself and your team up for success when you need it in the future.
Email Management Gets You to Inbox Zero
Email management is often the most challenging area for professionals. Some folks use their inbox as a storage system, which Leslie warns against. She points out that while it may seem fast to search for information in emails, it’s actually quite time consuming. Using the folder or tag system is appropriate if you’ve got a system in place, but not every email should be filed in that system because not every email has important reference information.
The other approach she notices with many of her clients is aiming for inbox zero but achieving inbox 20 or so. In this case, people leave a handful of emails in their inbox as a secondary task list or holding pen for emails they want to deal with later.
Leslie explains that the key to effective email management is to treat the inbox as a temporary holding space. Emails should be processed quickly and touched once, with actionable items transferred to a digital task list so that the email can be archived. This allows the inbox to stay clean and ensures that important tasks aren’t buried among less critical emails.
Embrace A Workload Management System
Managing a team is no easy feat, and neither is finding time in a busy workday. By applying Leslie’s strategies, managers can help themselves and their teams reclaim lost time, reduce stress, and enhance productivity. Implementing an integrated system for managing tasks, time, email, and information will ensure that everyone stays on top of their workload and works more efficiently.
Remember, the key is not just to work harder, but to work smarter. When tasks are broken down into manageable steps, time is protected and saved, emails are processed efficiently, and information is easily accessible, both managers and their teams can achieve more in less time. When you start taking control of your workday today, your future productive self will thank you.
Listen to the entire episode HERE to learn more about conflict management.
Keep up with Leslie Shreve
- Subscribe to her YouTube channel here
- Take the productivity quiz now here
- Sign up for a FREE 52-week productivity audio series here
- Get the special report on Seven Surprising Secrets to Saving Time here
- Visit her website for more information here
Guest Bonus: FREE Video on Taskology® Task Management + 20% Off the Full Course
Leslie is giving members of Podcast+ a FREE Video on Taskology® Task Management + 20% Off the Full Course. When you dive into the first video in the series for Taskology® Task Management, you'll discover the 3 essentials for getting more accomplished in less time with less stress. You'll also discover the Top 6 Benefits of using a central, digital task list and why this type of list will support you in working more proactively and less reactively, in addition to giving you more clarity, confidence, and control in your workday.
Get this guest bonus and many other member benefits when you join The Modern Manager Podcast+ Community.
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