How many Tasks per week should each person have?

Just capture the “big things”, the key Tasks you need to get done each week to move your Goals forward (or your area of the business forward).

For Project Goals, ask yourself, what is the “1 thing” (the most important thing) that needs to happen in the coming week to move each Project Goal forward? Capture that as a Task. 

Metric / KPI Goals may not always have a Task assigned to them every week (especially if they are colored green), but if the Metric is colored yellow or red - you will probably want to assign a Task to specify an action that the goal owner needs to take in the coming week to fix the situation.   

Tip: Enter no more than 3 or 4 key Tasks per person in any given week. The aim is for everyone to know (and agree with their manager) what are the most important tasks they must get done in the coming week, before the next weekly team meeting.  

Everyone has a huge “to do” list of things they want to get done each week, but what is their “one thing”? What is the one tangible, bite-sized Task they can complete in the coming week that is the most important thing they can do to move their area of the business forward?

Regardless of their role, everyone in the organization must know their “one thing” each week. Managers should follow up to make sure each person checks their "one thing" off as “done” by the end of the week.

Any other Tasks that get accomplished during the week are a bonus, but everyone must know their “one thing” and focus on getting that Task done above everything else.

For more information, see our management training courses to learn our best practices for setting up and managing Metrics, Projects and Tasks.

Stephen Lynch

Head of Strategy and Consulting