Don't Keel Over | Meet Deadlines Faster with our Free Online Inventory System
We’ve all missed a deadline at one time or another. Perhaps something else took priority. Maybe we were precluded from meeting our goal by illness or some other unexpected event. Whether we had a “valid” excuse or not, we all likely felt some guilt as we watched the deadline slip by while our project remained incomplete. In that moment, the question wasn’t really how quickly could we finish the assigned task, but rather what could we do to prevent feeling this way again. To avoid missing a future deadline. It could be as simple as automating some tasks. For example, our free online inventory system allows you to perform tasks that used to take hours in a matter of seconds. Never miss another deadline because you had to take stock first.
Deadlines can be sneaky. Particularly when they are vague in nature. If someone says “I need that by next week,” when exactly do they want it? Monday? Friday? Both are next week. Their perception of the timeline and yours need to match, otherwise both parties are going to end up displeased. When assigning or being assigned a project, clarify the deadline in concrete terms. “I need to have that report by close of business Wednesday.” There is no ambiguity in that deadline. Close of business Wednesday is a specific,set time.
Once the deadline is clearly established the person performing the work needs to realistically evaluate how many hours of work the project should entail. All too often we look at a project and sum it up as “hard” or “easy”, “time-consuming” or “quick.” We’re back in that vague area. If something seems quick and easy how much time should you allow? If you wait too late and haven’t allowed enough time to complete the work that deadline isn’t going to be met. What if some unforeseen circumstance interferes with your plan? Or an unexpected wrinkle causes the project to take longer? These are common occurrences and successful project management builds in time for such eventualities. If a project requires 20 tasks and each time you perform that task it takes you 20 minutes you can easily estimate how many hours it will take you to complete the project. It’s not always that clear cut but you can almost always come up with a workable time estimate.
After you’ve determined the amount of time needed to complete the project, take a look at your calendar. Are there any events that will impact your ability to get the job done? A doctor’s appointment? A scheduled lunch or other celebration? Anything that will stop your workflow for a period of time should be considered. Of course, you can’t plan for everything, but overlooking a two hour block of time that you’ll be away from the office could be a costly error.
By now, you have your game plan in place. You know when the project is due and how many work hours you need to devote to it between now and then. Now you can plan out the work so that it falls into your guidelines. If you see any issues that make meeting the deadline questionable, now is the time to bring it up. Perhaps the deadline can be shifted some, maybe another employee could step in and help you with part of the project. There are far more options the earlier in the process you begin.
We can’t guarantee that you’ll never miss another deadline, but following these guidelines makes it a lot less likely to happen to you. Get started today. Sign up for our free online inventory system and start taking your time back so that you can focus on other deadlines.
