“How can I get a little more time every day so that I can get things done on a daily basis?” This is not only the case for our private lives but also in terms of the strategic goals defined at work. Most organizations make an effort of increasing productivity through effective planning. However, effective planning is a concept known for being hard to grasp, and it can be a challenge to figure out where to start.

This Article provides five useful tips for a more effective planning:

  1. Plan Far into the Future: By creating a plan for many months into the future, you avoid the daily hurdles of finding out what is the most appropriate project to engage in. By doing this, it is easier to see the bigger picture and which small projects will get you closer to the general goals.
  2. Involve Everyone in the Planning: The planning processes are comprehensive and involve scheduling activities, delegating responsibilities and continuous coordination. Are these carried out by a few people in the organization, and much is spend unnecessarily.
  3. Use An Intuitive Tool for Effective Planning: To ensure that employees are motivated to use a digital tool, the solution should be intuitive. Keep in mind that everyone should be able to use it, and therefore, it is important that you have access to tutorials and descriptions about the features.
  4. All Activities in One Structure: This tip is related to the previous one and involves an important feature of the just mentioned digital solution. At a glance, the tool should be able to give you a comprehensible view of the plans for the year, and this is a precondition for the planning to be truly effective. When it isn’t possible instantly to get a full view, it can be challenging to get the bigger picture.
  5. Automation: The last tip has to do with the time being saved by automating processes. This could, for instance, happen by arranging emails for customers or marketing campaigns to be sent out automatically. Another example is to use a tool that allows you to set up notifications to be sent out to colleagues prior to events.

Image source: Pixabay – borevina