{"id":1873,"date":"2023-08-18T16:21:36","date_gmt":"2023-08-18T14:21:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cms-bw.freelo.io\/?p=1873"},"modified":"2025-06-24T11:22:03","modified_gmt":"2025-06-24T09:22:03","slug":"10-golden-rules-for-every-boss-how-to-delegate-work-and-save-money-and-time-with-a-project-management-tool-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/cms-bw.freelo.io\/en\/10-golden-rules-for-every-boss-how-to-delegate-work-and-save-money-and-time-with-a-project-management-tool-2\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Golden Rules for Every Boss: How to Delegate Work and Save Money and Time with a Project Management Tool"},"content":{"rendered":"

Did you know that properly managed projects are 2.5 times more likely to succeed? But how does one practically run such a project? \ud83d\udc49 We did a survey among the bosses of smaller and <\/strong>larger companies <\/strong>to find out what 10 problems they struggle with the most on a daily basis and how they solve them using a project management tool like Freelo<\/u><\/a>, Asana or Trello.<\/p>\n

If everyone moves forward together, success will take care of itself.<\/p>\n

Henry Ford<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

1.\u00a0\u00a0 Chaotic task assignments<\/span><\/h2>\n

Why is a poorly written assignment a problem?<\/h3>\n

You set an assignment in the corridor and your colleague didn’t do it exactly as you expected<\/strong>. Can you blame him? Of course not. You made the mistake <\/strong>\u2013\u00a0the assignment should have been written (ideally in project management software<\/u><\/a>), unambiguous and you should have made sure your colleague understood it correctly. When you don’t, the assignment gets reworked, you burn too much time on it, and you disturb a lot of other people by communicating around it. So don’t do it that way.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Before the introduction of Freelo, we would occasionally have an email get pushed out because it came to multiple people on the team, and everyone thought the other person would handle it. By assigning tasks to a specific person, this practically doesn’t happen at all.<\/p>\n

Jakub Kofro\u0148<\/strong>, co-founder and managing director of Beneficio Media<\/u><\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

What do you get by doing the tasks correctly?<\/h3>\n

With almost 40%<\/a> of projects failing due to poorly defined requirements<\/strong>, it is clear that this problem should not be underestimated. So, it’s up to you to learn how to assign and manage tasks correctly and implement this into your entire team’s practice. Make the task assignment a priority, because…<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  • you’ll save time that you can invest in something more important,<\/li>\n
  • so, you save money,<\/li>\n
  • you minimize misunderstanding and the solver doesn’t have to ask questions,<\/li>\n
  • you’re unlikely to forget a task,<\/li>\n
  • you’re much more likely to take on a task when you have a clear, structured assignment and know exactly what to do,<\/li>\n
  • expectations are met and everyone feels good about the smooth collaboration and the completed task.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    What is the best way to set the task?<\/h3>\n

    Think like a problem solver \u2013 write down the questions you would definitely want to ask if you were given the assignment and knew nothing about the problem and answer them. At the same time, be sure to include:<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. enough information <\/strong>\u2013\u00a0often you don’t even realize that some information is only known by you, so you don’t think it’s important to pass it Think about the details. The clearer the assignment is, the more likely the colleague will complete the task exactly to your liking.<\/li>\n
    2. task deadline <\/strong>\u2013\u00a0when we have a deadline set by someone else, we usually feel more responsibility to actually meet the deadline on time<\/li>\n
    3. procedure <\/strong>\u2013\u00a0have you thought of the steps a colleague should follow when completing a task? Or do you even have a process<\/u> <\/a>in place? Pass it on to speed up the work!<\/li>\n
    4. task solver <\/strong>\u2013 there should always be only one, so that it is clear who is responsible for the task at the moment.<\/li>\n
    5. priority <\/strong>\u2013 how much the task burns, but also how important it is (how much time and energy should the solver devote to it \u2013 is it a “quickie” that will fit in time, or something more important that should really matter?)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      \ud83d\udca1 TIP: Assign tasks through image or voice <\/h4>

      A Chinese proverb says that a picture is worth a thousand words <\/strong>\u2013\u00a0and so is a video or voice recording. Consider whether it’s quicker for you and the problem solver to speak the assignment, make a screen shot or record a video<\/strong>. For example, in Freelo you don’t need a special app for this, you can do it right there.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

      2.\u00a0\u00a0 Ineffective communication<\/h2>\n

      Why is poor (or no) communication a problem?<\/h3>\n

      Just like the chaotic assignment, poor team communication earned the project an infamous place in the top 5<\/a> causes of project failure<\/strong>. The endless “RE:RE:RE\u2026” emails are a bit of a headache. Just like the fact that you communicate <\/strong>about tasks in several places <\/strong>(email, WhatsApp, Slack, at lunch…).<\/p>\n

      Or as a boss, you say nothing at all and expect others to understand or sense everything for themselves. But that’s not how it works.\ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

      \"\"
      Source<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

      What do you get when you learn to communicate in a team?<\/h3>\n

      On average, it takes 23 minutes<\/a> to regain full focus when you’re interrupted by a colleague with a simple chat message. That’s 3 hours a day wasted <\/strong>if you get that message every hour during normal working hours. What do you need to do as a boss? Establish a clear (online) communication policy in the project management tool that the whole team sticks to <\/strong>because:<\/strong><\/p>\n

        \n
      • you spend less time communicating and searching for information (for example, with Freelo, each member saves an average of 30 minutes per day),<\/li>\n
      • you don’t distract yourself with unnecessary discussions and you have room for deep work,<\/li>\n
      • you can find the history of the discussion in one place and come back to it at any time (to find an important milestone or to learn from mistakes for managing other projects).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        A big complication for us when working in a large team was the endless email communication. We simply got lost in it. Everyone was replying to a different part of the thread and dealing with anything, especially across teams, was absolutely inefficient. So, we decided to change the situation and chose Freelo.<\/p>\n

        Jarom\u00edr Krp\u00e1lek<\/strong>, Head of IT at Sanasport.cz<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

        Guaranteed tips on how to communicate effectively<\/h3>\n

        Communicate asynchronously<\/h4>\n

        You don’t put pressure to respond immediately, and you don’t interrupt the team’s concentration, and the recipient can think about the response in peace. It’s fine to clarify some things in person <\/strong>or quickly in a chat, but always summarize the result directly under the task in the tool you’re managing the projects in to keep <\/strong>context.<\/p>\n

        \"\"
        A screenshot of a discussion on an Asana task. Source<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

        Structure your comments<\/h4>\n

        Use paragraphs, bullets, numbering, highlighting<\/strong>. Others will find their way around the text much faster and don’t have to read it several times to understand it. Additionally, numbering helps others respond to specific points <\/strong>and no one gets lost in the communication.<\/p>\n

        “Like” and do not reply<\/h4>\n

        Your answer is no longer needed, and the challenge is nearing the final? Show your approval or thanks with one click<\/strong>. Firstly, you don’t get distracted by typing and secondly, by liking it, you let only one person know your approval and don’t disturb others.<\/p>\n

        \ud83d\udca1 TIP: Before you decide to start a discussion with a colleague, think about whether\u2026 <\/h4>
          \n
        • you have ever dealt with a similar problem, and you can’t trace it in your communications,<\/li>\n
        • Google doesn’t happen to be able to help
          \n
          \"\"
          Source<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n

          \n<\/div><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

          3.\u00a0\u00a0 Non-profitability of projects<\/h2>\n

          Why do projects tend to lose money?<\/h3>\n

          You’re running out of money somewhere and you don’t know where. That’s not exactly an ideal situation when you have a fixed budget for a project. You know what the catch is? Quite possibly you’re wasting energy on activities that are unprofitable <\/strong>or even loss-making. It’s important to get to the heart of the project puzzle \u2013 do you have a handle on how much time your team is spending on tasks, and have you prioritized the project correctly<\/strong>?<\/p>\n

          What do you get when you actually control the project budget?<\/h3>\n
            \n
          • you will finally know what you invest too much money in, and which activities are profitable for the company and which ones do not make sense to continue,<\/li>\n
          • keep track of who is spending how much time on tasks and whether it would be better to invest your energy in something else,<\/li>\n
          • you will find out who in the team is contributing to the profits and who is dragging the project down,<\/li>\n
          • you can intervene in time if something doesn’t go as<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

            Thanks to the timesheet over individual tasks in Freelo, we finally know what we spend hours on and have to think about whether it’s worthwhile or whether it’s desirable to focus on something else.<\/p>\n

            Pavel \u010cern\u00fd<\/strong>, Head of IT Department, Autocentrum BARTH<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

            How to keep an eye on the project budget and not to overspend?<\/h3>\n

            Think of a project management application as a box that you gradually fill with all the information about a project<\/strong>, you can open it at any time and look inside it or do a complete review of the contents of the box. Everything in one place <\/strong>\u2013\u00a0including a complete overview of the project’s financial budget. It will help you… \ud83d\udc47<\/p>\n

            Time tracking (tracking time over tasks)<\/h4>\n

            Honest time tracking<\/a> will show you who worked on a task when, how much time it took and whether it was worthwhile. How does it work in practice? Simply turn on the online stopwatch right at the task when you’re working on it<\/strong>. The great thing is that by splitting the task into subtasks, the team can track time on specific sub-steps. When you choose the right software<\/a>, you can finally ditch apps like Toggl or Harvest<\/strong>, and measure time directly in them.<\/p>\n

            For example, this is what it looks like in the Monday tool…<\/p>\n

            \"\"<\/p>\n

            And this is how Freelo users measure time…<\/p>\n