Today’s requirements challenge project managers, constantly demanding them to oversee more projects simultaneously. In this article, we will explore ways to ease this task, minimise errors, and remain on top of everything. Specifically, how the right digital tools can boost your performance.
Multitasking is a vital skill for project management. Within a single project, you often switch between tasks and take on various roles daily. As the number of projects increases, the frequency of focus-shifting will also rise. No matter how organised or experienced you are, you are only human. This is the fastest way to burnout.
Thankfully, today’s technology provides excellent support for project managers to handle more projects simultaneously without compromising their health or the quality of the final product. Before we delve into creating an impeccable process, there are several general tips you might want to implement immediately. Let’s begin with those.
Below are some tips to help you manage multiple projects more easily:
Prioritise your tasks based on their importance in relation to other tasks, not difficulty;
Don’t go in without a plan, but don’t expect things to go according to it;
Remain flexible and adaptable to changes;
Find common touchpoints and try to complete the same task across all projects involving it (if possible);
Understand your team structure and individual skill sets;
Provide internal communication channels for both permanent and contracted workers;
Utilise your existing digital tools before setting off to adopt new ones;
Block time to focus on one project at a time instead of project-jumping.
Here are some quick tips you can start using right now. Although they are not very impactful, they will make managing multiple projects easier. More noticeable results come from more advanced methods, which we will discuss next.
A good project manager always maintains visibility and control over progress. It's easier to say than to do, or so many of us believe. However, every project manager can raise their skills to a multi-tasking expert level. The methods below aren’t complex, but they are highly effective.
We have discussed automation and its importance when managing multiple projects simultaneously in our previous article. However, the topic is so broad and vital that we must continue emphasising it. The truth is, the sooner you begin automating, the better off you will be. Automation not only saves time by handling repetitive tasks, but with time and optimisation, it can also improve other areas such as resource allocation, forecasting, and more. Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need to automate large tasks all at once. In fact, it’s advisable to start small and gradually add layers.
Automation isn’t a one-time event but an ongoing process that provides not only efficiency but also valuable data. It minimises the risk of human error, which is particularly common in large-scale project management. The collected data can also help you identify gaps in your operations and communication, highlighting new areas where automation could be introduced. Most importantly, it allows you and your team to concentrate on tasks that advance the process and support future growth: relationship building, market research, interest gauging, and many others.
Most projects face issues due to insufficient resources, whether it be the workforce, budget, or others. This can often become a significant obstacle that impacts the overall quality of the delivery and the ability to meet deadlines. The situation becomes even more complicated when the same resources are allocated across multiple projects. This means you must be very careful in planning their use, or else you risk failure.
Project management software, for example, can be a great tool when identifying your priorities and assessing how much resource you can allocate without affecting other projects. With an overview of all ongoing tasks and their deadlines, you can easily adjust plans if needed, prepare in advance, and leave yourself plenty of room to adapt. Overall, it’s important to accept that things may not go exactly as planned, so you should be confident and flexible when making changes. A dedicated project management platform supports you in achieving this.
One area that suffers the most when trying to stay on top of multiple projects is, undoubtedly, communication. This is quite normal, considering your and your team’s focus is now divided among several clients, meaning you have less time to personalise your approach. Unfortunately, relationship-building and transparency are essential for successful project delivery. So, how do you address this issue, given that it stems from our human limitations? Simple. You can automate and digitise communication. What’s more, this doesn’t mean your approach will be less personalised. Quite the opposite.
For example, client A prefers being invoiced mid-month, while client B finds the end of the month more convenient. Instead of either doing the job of invoicing twice or more a month, or making all clients adjust to your preference, you can automate the process of raising and distributing invoices for each client individually. The same approach applies to transparency-related matters. If you use project management software, you can create client-specific dashboards that show live progress to both, saving you time on updating reports.
No doubt, managing multiple projects simultaneously is a challenge. Today's fast-paced and competitive environment is causing that number to increase, often forgetting that project managers are only human and therefore have limits. Fortunately, when the right tools are employed, those limits can be expanded. Moreover, this approach can transform the entire way your business operates, taking it to new heights.
Automating different tasks reduces the time spent on repetitive activities across projects, allowing you to concentrate on more individual and progress-driven assignments. The right tools also make project progress tracking simpler and more centralised, aiding in deploying resources to the right places at the right time. Lastly, it helps foster seamless communication and personalised experiences for your clients, without wasting time on endless back-and-forths.
Are you ready to see how these tips work in practice? Get in touch.