How Do I Write a Task Management Plan?

Writing a task management plan involves setting goals, listing priorities, scheduling, and devising alternative plans to deal with unforeseen glitches. Each area of the plan should be clearly defined to provide a blueprint for activities to meet deadlines and complete assigned work. A task management plan might include documentation of progress at each step of a project to evaluate whether goals are being met. It should also determine the resources needed and allow reporting of the outcome.

The first step in writing a task management plan defines work needing attention. It also sets timelines for each task by day, week, or month. The goal-setting part of the plan describes which jobs should be accomplished within each time period. This list of expectations might include a section on issues that could interfere with deadlines and how these problems can be handled.

A list of priorities typically keeps a project organized and gives employees a way to determine tasks that need immediate attention. Urgent tasks define work that must be handled immediately, such as dealing with phone calls and visitors who drop in. Important tasks might include planning for a coming meeting or presentation that impacts the company. Jobs regarded as urgent and important might arise in a crisis situation. Unimportant tasks typically include visiting with coworkers or attending to personal business while at work.

Scheduling each task represents another component of writing a task management plan. Timelines should be created for each job necessary to complete the entire project. These timelines should be realistic and consider the financial and human resources available. Resources might vary by project, within budget constraints. A task management plan should analyze resources needed and determine if the company is willing to invest in resources to meet deadlines.

Back-up plans might be devised to deal with unexpected issues that crop up. Task management plans should provide for alternate strategies to deal with unanticipated events. These alternate plans prepare employees to handle issues quickly without the need to redefine goals or set new priorities.

Once the task management plan is written, it should be shared with colleagues who will work together on the project. If the plan calls for delegating jobs to different coworkers or different departments within the organization, those issues can be clarified by discussing the plan. This process ensures everyone is working from the same blueprint to accomplish the goals.

The final step in preparing a task management plan involves a method of tracking progress, especially on large projects broken down into subtasks. By monitoring progress, supervisors might identify areas that need more resources to keep the job on track. They might also discover weak areas by department or employee, where work get bogged down.