by Taylor Tomita

It’s easy to spot when someone who reports to you is putting off a task. If you have regular catch-up meetings with them, it’s the job that will get mentioned every week but somehow never quite seems to be top of their to-do list, no matter how many times you suggest it should be done soon. There might be many reasons why it keeps slipping down, but as their manager, it’s ultimately your responsibility to make sure it gets done.

Fortunately, there’s a new guide to how for achieve this. It might also be a useful exercise to run through with your team to figure out what to prioritize, but the most relevant part of the guide are the tips for actually getting started:

Find The Transition Point

The ‘transition point’ is that first hurdle that tends to get in the way of a job getting started. It’s the initial action someone needs to take. It might be you or it might be one of your team members who needs to really commit to the work or it may be a phone call, a kick-off meeting or just creating the document or work plan. Whatever it is, finding out what it is and getting it done is a great way to get started.

Don’t Let Them Get Distracted

There are lots of things that can distract your team, so before they embark upon a big project, make sure as many of these are as mitigated as possible. Ensure they have a tidy workspace and let them bring in headphones if they need to drown out the office chatter. Perhaps schedule in some time in the day when they all agree to purely focus on the project at hand.

Find Out When They’re At Their Best

Everyone has different working rhythms, called their ultradian cycles. Work with your team to find out when they are at their peak for productivity and try to schedule their day so that they’re tackling the most important work at those times.

Don’t Let Negativity Win

Within a team, keeping spirits high can be a full-time job, especially when it comes to doing a task that has been put off several times. It’s easy for morale to drop and for this to affect deadlines, so you’ll need to work closely with them to ensure that negative thoughts are acknowledged and then dealt with quickly.

Break Up The Job Into Smaller Tasks

Sometimes the size of a job is what stops it getting done, because it seems too big to complete. Break down this psychological barrier by breaking things up. Create a timeline of smaller chunks of work to be done, which all add up to getting the overall work completed.

It’s frustrating when work starts to drag and the delays keep piling up, but follow these tips and you’ll soon have your team powering through even the most daunting of tasks in no time.

Photo: Helloquence (Unsplash)

Infographic: Net Credit