Have you ever said or thought, “I wish I had more time?” What could you do with an extra hour, day, or even week? Chances are you would have plenty of time to handle everything on your plate.
This is day-to-day life for many construction project managers who are in charge of complicated projects. If the projects cannot meet deadlines, they may face serious consequences, like liquidated damages.
Since time is so finite, you need to find ways to become more productive. There are several strategies you can use, from using a free time card calculator to creating a time management plan. Keep reading for some helpful tips.
KEEP YOUR PROJECT SCHEDULE TOP OF MIND
Your project schedule is the construction project manager’s playbook that dictates what is going to happen, when it will happen, and how long it will take. It is also used to determine who is responsible for making these things happen.
Any impacts or changes to the schedule can create a ripple effect, which will shift the other items in the plan. While there are some commercial construction projects that last months or even years, as the project manager, it is your job to review, track, and manage the schedule regularly. This will give you a task list you can rely on for the duration of the project.
TAKE TIME TO PRIORITIZE THE TASK LIST YOU CREATE
Your project schedule will create a task list for you to use to guide the process. However, not everything related to the project or at the job site will progress as needed. It may be the wrong materials being delivered to the job site, issues related to coordinating with the subcontractors, to safety risks – there are an array of items that require attention from the construction project manager.
Along with handling the regular list of to-dos to ensure the project continues moving forward, such as going to meetings and ordering materials, project managers have to spend quite a bit of their time putting out fires, too.
DELEGATE WHEN NEEDED
If you are a construction project manager, you have a lot of work to do on a daily basis; however, there is no reason you have to try to handle everything on your own.
Project managers for construction sites are a part of a bigger team who is working together to achieve project success. It is necessary to review the tasks that need to be done to see if there is anything that can be delegated to someone else on the team, like for foreman, project engineer, or someone else. Delegating specific tasks will help to set the stage to ensure success.
HOLD ACTIONABLE MEETINGS
Meetings are crucial for team members to get together and discuss what needs to be done and make the necessary decisions. However, many people dislike meetings – especially those that have no real purpose. If you are a construction project manager and you have limited time along with a huge task list, it is necessary to spend your time conducting meetings with a specific purpose.
The key to ensuring that you have a productive meeting and making sure that people don’t dread them is to ensure they are actionable. To do this, you must prepare for your meeting by creating a definitive agenda, state what the goal is for the meeting, and end your meeting with the action items and when they are due.
When you are tasked with effective time management for a construction project, it may feel like many factors are working against you. However, by implementing the tips listed here, you can achieve the desired results and feel confident that your project will run smoothly and that it will be successful. Being informed, knowing what to do, and taking the right steps will help ensure that every construction project is successful and that it meets the goals that have been set.
