Why tasks take longer than expected and what to consider before saying yes to new work.
Whether it's saying yes to running the next meeting or taking on a new project, one of the biggest challenges is fitting new work into an already busy week. You want to be helpful and contribute, but you also don't want to overcommit and end up working late nights or delivering rushed work.
The usual approach is to start with clarity around the job to be done, and rightly so. When you know exactly what needs to be done, you can better understand what resources or support you need and estimate how much time it will take. But this isn't the full picture. There are a number of other factors that can influence how many resources and how much time you will need.
When we don't consider these factors, we risk underestimating how much time it will take to get the work done. Then, as time runs out, we are left with a list of undesirable choices. We might cut corners on the work, push out other commitments, or log on during lunch or after hours to try and fit it all in.
But what if there was a better way? What if we looked at these factors at the outset and made better decisions about what is needed to successfully complete the job at hand? In this article, I'm going to cover each of the five factors that are often missed when taking on new work so you can increase your chances of success from the beginning.
Let's take running a meeting as an example. Ineffective meetings are among the top productivity barriers at work. They are also a part of the workday that few people can avoid.
One reason meetings are ineffective is a lack of preparation. This is an example of pre-work that must be done in order for the main task (the meeting) to be done well. Every task includes some pre-work, but we don't always account for the time required to complete it when we say yes to new work.
Pre-work can include gathering information, organising a location and attendees, reviewing material in advance, planning a format, and many more activities, depending on the job to be done. These activities take time and effort, and they directly impact the task. I regularly see people forgetting to allow for pre-work when it comes to repeating or recurring meetings.
Other commitments fill their days, and so the meeting starts without the required preparation. I'm sure you have experienced a scenario like this and know how those meetings go.
The next time you are given a new task, big or small, identify the pre-work needed and schedule it in the same way you plan for the main task.
On the other side of the job-to-be-done is post-work. These are the activities that invariably arise from the work you are doing. This could be admin work, updating systems with required information, or communicating tasks or new work that was identified along the way.
In our meeting example, it could be sending the meeting minutes or action items, or completing work assigned during the meeting.
Not doing post-work can undermine the impact of the work or make it more difficult for other people or teams to get the information they need to move their items forward. It can be hard to identify post-work in advance, but allowing buffer time for tying up loose ends is a practical way to address this.
Interruptions are a regular part of every workday, but just because they are part of the furniture doesn't mean they should go unmanaged. When you are planning to take on new work, do you assume (or hope) that everything will run smoothly, or do you consider the risks that might derail your work?
Taking time up front to consider what might go wrong and how you might handle it has a number of benefits.
Identifying issues and risks is considered best practice for project management, but it shouldn't be reserved just for projects. Build it into your approach to every task to become more proactive and adaptable in getting things done.
Even if you have prepared for the task and allowed space for follow-up actions, your plans could still be derailed by other people's availability. Most jobs today are highly collaborative, requiring us to work with other people to get things done. The problem is that it can be hard enough to manage your own schedule, never mind having input into other people's time.
But if you can make an effort to understand other people's workloads and what is on their plate, this can help manage your expectations around their availability.
It's also good to distinguish the role other people play in your work. Do they provide input? Are they required to be part of the doing, for example, co-creating a report or making a decision as part of the process? Or do you need to send them the output of the work to help them do their job?
Understanding the role other people play in one of your tasks can help you assess the impact of their unavailability and take action accordingly.
The final factor that could create unnecessary stress for a new task is the other work on your desk. Unless this is the first task you are taking on in a brand new role, I have to assume you have other responsibilities on your plate.
On any given day, these tasks will be more or less important. Clarity on this is key to managing your workload and avoiding getting stuck between two competing pieces of work.
Every time you say yes to new work is an opportunity to review your workload, reconfirm the priorities of different items, and be confident that your work is in the right order.
These five factors represent the hidden elements of workload planning that most people overlook. When you account for pre-work, post-work, interruptions, others' availability, and competing priorities, you'll find yourself making more realistic commitments and experiencing less stress as a result.
The key is to build this thinking into your regular workflow. Before you say yes to new work, take a moment to consider each of these factors. Ask yourself what else could go wrong and how you might handle it. This isn't about being pessimistic or creating unnecessary barriers. It's about being realistic and setting yourself up for success from the start.
Taking on new work doesn't have to lead to overwhelm or last-minute scrambling. When you plan with all the factors in mind, you create space for quality work and maintain the boundaries that protect your daily well-being.
If you're looking for support in developing more sustainable work practices for yourself or your team, I'd love to help. Contact me to learn more about how we can work together to create better, more productive work environments.