Deborah Aturu is a writer based in Lagos. She's interested in all things Project Management, technology, and photography related, and sleeps as much as she reads.


Follow her [on Twitter](https://twitter.com/brownnboredd).


Deborah Aturu

Emmanuel Daniji is a Lagos-based Journalist, Writer, media personnel, and publicist. He's interested in all things Project Management, technology, and startups.


Follow him [on Twitter](https://twitter.com/iam_bigdan).


Emmanuel Daniji

Innocent is a writer based in Lagos City. He's interested in all things tech, science, and photography related, and likes to swim in his free time.


Follow him [on Twitter](https://twitter.com/centamadi).

Innocent Amadi



No matter the size of your team, achieving success depends on everyone working together towards the same goals. Let's dive into what team alignment means, why it's important, especially when working remotely and explore some practical ways to make it happen. 

### Understanding Team Alignment
Team alignment is when everyone in a team understands and agrees on the goals of the organization and works together to achieve them. It's like rowing a boat in the same direction – everyone needs to be on board and paddling together. But it's not just about knowing the goals; it's also about sharing the same values and understanding how each person's work contributes to the big picture.

### Key Strategies for Building Team Alignment
1. **Foster Open Communication:**
Good communication is crucial for keeping everyone on the same page. Share important updates regularly and encourage everyone to ask questions and share their thoughts.

2. **Set Clear Goals:**
Having clear goals helps everyone know what they're working towards. Use simple methods like setting objectives and key results (OKRs) to make goals easy to understand.

3. **Talk Often:**
Regular meetings help reinforce alignment. Use these meetings to discuss goals and how everyone's work fits into them. Encourage feedback and make sure everyone feels heard.

4. **Use Helpful Tools:**
There are many tools available to help teams work better together. Find ones that work for your team, like DrogoAI, which can help with setting goals, having meetings, and getting feedback.

5. **Celebrate Success:**
When someone does a good job or when the team achieves something, make sure to celebrate it. This helps everyone feel appreciated and motivated to keep working towards their goals.

### The Importance of Team Alignment
Teams that are aligned are more productive and efficient. They work well together and can overcome challenges more easily. On the other hand, teams that aren't aligned can struggle to meet deadlines and may feel disconnected from each other.

### Signs of Aligned and Misaligned Teams
Aligned teams have clear goals, communicate well, and work together effectively. Misaligned teams may have confusion, missed deadlines, and disagreements.

### Dealing with Challenges in Remote Work
Remote work can make it harder for teams to stay aligned. Make sure to communicate regularly and use tools to help everyone stay connected. Schedule virtual meetings and team-building activities to keep everyone engaged.

> ### Using DrogoAI to Improve Alignment
DrogoAI offers tools to help teams work better together. From setting goals to giving feedback, these tools can help keep everyone focused and aligned towards common objectives. By using DrogoAI, teams can work more efficiently and achieve greater success.



 matter the size of your team, achieving success depends on everyone working together towards the same goals. This article explores what team alignment means, why it's important – especially when working remotely – and explore some practical ways to make it happen.

Forging Stronger Bonds within Your Team for Better Performance




Building a cohesive team is essential for achieving success, regardless of the size or nature of the organization. Especially in today's remote work environment, where physical distance can create barriers, fostering strong bonds among team members is paramount. In this comprehensive guide, we'll delve into the intricacies of team cohesion, exploring its significance, strategies for achieving it, challenges in remote work settings, and the role of innovative tools like [DrogoAI](https://drogo.ai/) in enhancing alignment and collaboration.

#### Understanding Team Cohesion:
Team cohesion goes beyond mere collaboration; it embodies a collective commitment to shared goals, values, and objectives. It's akin to a symphony orchestra where each instrument plays its part harmoniously to create beautiful music. Similarly, in a cohesive team, every member understands their role, respects their peers, and works towards a common purpose. This understanding not only fosters productivity but also cultivates a sense of belonging and mutual trust among team members.

## Key Strategies for Building Team Cohesion:

#### 1. Foster Open Communication:
Effective communication lies at the heart of team cohesion. Encouraging transparent dialogue, both synchronous and asynchronous, ensures that information flows freely, ideas are exchanged, and concerns are addressed promptly. Regular team meetings, one-on-one check-ins, and dedicated communication channels facilitate collaboration and build camaraderie among remote team members.

#### 2. Set Clear Goals:
Clarity breeds alignment. Clearly defined goals provide a roadmap for the team, guiding their efforts towards desired outcomes. Utilizing frameworks such as Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) helps translate organizational objectives into actionable tasks, ensuring that every team member understands their role in achieving collective success.

#### 3. Cultivate a Culture of Feedback:
Feedback is a catalyst for growth. Creating a culture where constructive feedback is not only encouraged but also valued fosters continuous improvement and strengthens team dynamics. Regular feedback loops, peer reviews, and 360-degree assessments empower team members to learn from each other's perspectives and adapt their approach to meet evolving challenges.

#### 4. Promote Collaboration through Technology:
In today's digital age, technology serves as a bridge connecting remote team members dispersed across different time zones and geographies. Leveraging collaborative tools like DrogoAI streamlines communication, project management, and knowledge sharing, facilitating seamless collaboration irrespective of physical distance.

#### 5. Celebrate Achievements:
Acknowledging and celebrating individual and collective achievements reinforces a sense of accomplishment and motivation within the team. Whether it's reaching a milestone, surpassing targets, or overcoming obstacles, recognizing efforts and contributions strengthens team morale and fosters a culture of appreciation and resilience.

## The Importance of Team Cohesion:
Cohesive teams are not only more productive and efficient but also more resilient in the face of adversity. They exhibit higher levels of morale, creativity, and problem-solving abilities, enabling them to navigate challenges and seize opportunities with confidence. Conversely, teams plagued by disunity and discord often struggle to meet deadlines, experience higher turnover rates, and are more susceptible to conflicts and inefficiencies.

## Signs of Cohesive and Fragmented Teams:
Cohesive teams exhibit synergy, trust, and a shared sense of purpose. They communicate openly, collaborate effectively, and demonstrate resilience in the face of setbacks. In contrast, fragmented teams may display signs of discord, such as miscommunication, lack of accountability, and interpersonal conflicts, leading to decreased productivity and morale.

## Navigating Challenges in Remote Work:
Remote work presents unique challenges to team cohesion, including communication barriers, feelings of isolation, and difficulty in building rapport. To mitigate these challenges, organizations must prioritize effective communication, leverage technology to foster collaboration, and promote virtual team-building activities to strengthen bonds among remote team members.

>## Using DrogoAI to Enhance Team Cohesion:
> DrogoAI offers a suite of innovative tools designed to empower teams to work smarter and more cohesively. From goal setting and performance tracking to facilitating virtual meetings and providing actionable insights, DrogoAI enhances alignment, collaboration, and productivity, enabling teams to achieve greater success in today's dynamic work environment.

#### Conclusion:
In conclusion, fostering team cohesion is not merely a goal but a necessity for organizations seeking sustained success and competitive advantage. By embracing strategies that promote open communication, clear goal setting, constructive feedback, and technological innovation, teams can overcome the challenges of remote work and thrive in an increasingly interconnected world. With DrogoAI as a trusted ally, organizations can unlock the full potential of their teams and embark on a journey towards greater collaboration, creativity, and achievement.



Building a cohesive team is essential for achieving success, regardless of the size or nature of the organization. Especially in today's remote work environment, where physical distance can create barriers, fostering strong bonds among team members is paramount.

Strengthening Team Cohesion for Enhanced Performance and Success

 

**Key Takeaway:** It is not advisable to mix Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) with traditional performance management practices directly. However, aligning them strategically can enhance organizational success. By comprehending the distinctions between OKRs and performance management and integrating OKRs into various stages of the performance management cycle, companies can harness OKRs to foster innovation and collaborative goal attainment, while still evaluating and rewarding performance management goals independently.

While objectives and key results (OKRs) can improve accountability and visibility, enmeshing OKRs and performance management can deter progress and encourage wrong behaviors. 
However, this doesn't mean you should entirely forgo using OKRs and performance management. Instead, learn to align OKRs and performance management goals to ensure they serve organizational needs. 

To help you achieve this, this article will cover everything you need to know about making OKRs and performance management work for your business. It'll do so by covering the following:

* The difference between OKRs and performance management
* Why you shouldn't mix OKRs and performance management
* How to align OKRs and performance management cycles

## What is the difference between OKRs and performance management?
OKRs are a goal management framework designed for and by teams. On the other hand, performance management is an assessment process designed for individuals and overseen by Human Resources or another hierarchical entity. Let’s look at OKRs and performance management separately for a better understanding of their components. 

#### What are OKRs? 
Unlike performance management, OKRs focus on setting ambitious stretch goals for teams and the broader organization. This goal-setting methodology consists of objectives (i.e., qualitative descriptions of what you want to achieve) and key results (i.e., metrics that gauge progress toward objectives). These can be altered as your company’s environment changes. For the best results, structure your OKRs using the following formula: 

#### What is performance management? 
Performance management aligns employees and managers to ensure that employees’ actions serve organizational goals. The performance management cycle involves four steps: planning, monitoring, reviewing, and rewarding performance. 

During the **planning stage**, managers work with employees to establish individual goals aligned with overall business objectives. These goals are personalized to suit each employee’s skillsets and competencies.  

Next, the **monitoring stage** involves tracking employees’ goal progress through weekly 1-on-1s or monthly/quarterly progress updates. This allows managers to check in on employees’ performance and help them overcome issues, enabling them to advance toward their goals.  

Thirdly, the **reviewing stage** is essentially a retrospective meeting where managers look back at employees’ performance at the end of the quarter or year. During this meeting, managers assess whether employees achieved their goals, how they went about them, and if they received enough support from the organization.  

Lastly, the **rewarding stage** involves compensating employees based on how well they’ve achieved their goals. This is one of the most important stages of performance management as it keeps employees motivated and productive while they work to achieve their goals. 

## Why you shouldn’t mix OKRs and performance management
As we’ve discussed, OKRs and performance management are different in nature which means your OKRs shouldn’t completely dictate your performance management (and vice versa). Here are several reasons why: 

#### OKRs and performance management have different scopes  
Employee goals have always been vital to performance management because they:  

* Ensure evaluations are fair by removing personal opinions, subjectivity, and biases 
* Provide accountability by defining the actions required to achieve these goals 
* Set expectations by clearly outlining the primary purpose and means of measurement  
* Enhance professional and personal development  

On the other hand, OKRs focus on impact as opposed to individual tasks, emphasizing outcomes instead of outputs. As most real outcomes (e.g., revenue, and new customers) require joint efforts, it’s hard to conduct an OKR performance review based on individual performance. With this in mind, large organizations function best when they set OKRs for teams rather than individuals. However, smaller teams and one-person departments may benefit from individual OKRs. Most commonly though, some separation between OKRs and individual performance management goals is necessary. 

>“OKRs are not synonymous with employee evaluations. OKRs are about the company’s goals and how each employee contributes to those goals. Performance evaluations – which are entirely about evaluating how an employee performed in a given period – should be independent of their OKRs.” 
>> -- Rick Klau, Google 

#### OKRs are transparent while performance management isn't
OKRs promote alignment, transparency, and collaboration with wider organizational goals. They encourage everyone to openly share their OKRs and the progress they're making towards them. This openness not only fosters ownership and accountability among employees but also provides visibility into how each person's goals contribute to the overall success of the organization.

On the other hand, performance management tends to focus more on evaluating and measuring individual employee performance. Since this process usually takes a top-down approach, it's not as transparent as OKRs.

#### OKRs inspire innovation, while performance management prioritizes attainment 
OKRs are designed to be ambitious and encourage teams to set bold outcomes. Conversely, performance management goals are more conservative and promote tactical performance.   

If you want employees to come up with cutting-edge ideas, set OKRs. These inspire teams to try innovative things and walk in uncharted waters. However, when working towards OKRs, it’s important to remind employees that failure is an accepted part of the process.  

With performance management, however, employees’ goal achievement can be directly tied to their paycheck or promotion. This can cause some employees to set safer goals that they know they can meet or exceed instead of stretch goals that can have a bigger impact on the company. To avoid this, use OKRs and performance management for their intended uses rather than entangling them, which can impact employee and company performance.  

#### OKRs have shorter cycles, while performance management follows longer ones
OKRs thrive on shorter, more frequent cycles that typically last a quarter. These encourage adaptability, agility, and timely course correction. 
In contrast, performance management operates on longer, more structured cycles that extend over a year or even multiple years. These cycles are defined by predetermined goals and metrics that remain fixed throughout the performance management process.

#### OKRs require collaboration, while performance management doesn’t
When looking at goal achievement, OKRs, and performance management work in opposing ways. When establishing direction, OKRs largely focus on collective goals (except in small companies or one-person departments). 

In contrast, performance management evaluates individual goals. As they’re set up differently, it’s essential to run OKR and performance management campaigns separately but on parallel tracks. In other words, coordinate OKRs and performance management in your organization while acknowledging their contrasting takes on collaboration.  

#### How to align OKRs and performance management cycles
As OKRs and performance management have different takes on measuring performance, you must distinguish them to accurately depict what’s happening inside your business. Let’s look at ways to successfully integrate OKRs at every stage of your performance management cycle — without actually creating OKR performance reviews. 

#### OKRs and the planning stage 
When looking to combine OKRs and performance management, avoid setting individual OKRs if you have bigger teams or a larger organization. There are several reasons for this: 

* Individual OKRs can slow down your organization, adding time-consuming admin work, check-ins, and meetings that deter teams away from organizational goals 
* Not everyone can contribute to growth or innovation on their own 
* The more OKRs you have, the harder it becomes to understand what’s prioritized 
* With individual OKRs, employees will prioritize their own goals over the company’s, resulting in a shift from group thinking to individual thinking 

#### OKRs and the monitoring stage 
OKRs are meant to be flexible, where you adapt objectives or key results to fit your organization’s environment. As such, combining OKRs and performance management requires you to embrace adaptive performance management.  

With adaptive performance management, you alter individual goals, objectives, and behaviors to the changing work environment. These changes can be brought on by external (e.g., technological, political, international, sociocultural, economic) or internal factors (e.g., interpersonal relationships, technical resources, infrastructure, operational capabilities). As such, adaptive performance ensures you’re able to deal with strategy failure and incorporate feedback, leading to improved creativity, resilience, and problem-solving skills.  

You should also keep an eye on your organization’s OKR progress during the monitoring stage to ensure employee performance contributes to OKRs. But keep in mind that OKR progress depends not only on individuals, but also on team sizes, employees’ preferences, and the frequency of check-ins. 

#### OKRs and performance reviews 
Individual feedback is essential for employees' success — but make sure this feedback is also related to organizational OKRs. This helps you consistently recalibrate employees’ efforts towards wider company OKRs. For example, you can say things like:  

* "Thank you for referring to our OKRs when prioritizing your tasks." 
* "When deciding what to work on next, you could pay more attention to the team OKRs currently at risk." 

While you shouldn’t tie OKRs and performance reviews together, you can use OKRs to see how employees spearhead goal-related outcomes and outputs. This can help you assess how employees contribute to the activities that impact your organization’s OKRs. As such, you can combine OKRs and performance reviews during quarterly retrospectives, where you review employees’ performance and use your company’s OKRs as a guiding light. 

#### OKRs and the rewarding stage 
When you combine OKRs and rewards — where employees are judged based on how much progress (in %) has been made towards their team goals — employees are less likely to help their team members and more likely to focus on their performance. This forgoes a fundamental aspect of OKRs: their cooperative nature.  

Additionally, as only 60-80% of key results are meant to be accomplished, mixing OKRs with compensation makes employees prioritize rewards over creating ambitious goals. This results in lazy OKRs and a lack of innovation. 

As performance management is risk-averse and often tied to compensation — while OKRs are aspirational and collaborative — OKRs are never supposed to be linked with rewards.  

>“OKR is a management tool, not an employee evaluation tool. As such, a building block of the OKR framework is to separate OKRs from compensation and promotions.” 
>> -- Felipe Castro

 
#### Final thoughts on OKR and performance management integration
OKRs can guide teams and organizations towards aspirational goals, while performance management assesses individuals’ abilities to perform tasks and generate desired outputs. While acknowledging the differences between the two frameworks is essential, aligning OKRs and performance management can streamline organizational success. Using the best practices highlighted in this article, you can coordinate OKRs and performance management to facilitate organizational success and ongoing growth.


—-------------------------

> Explore the transformative capabilities of DrogoAI, the ultimate solution designed to empower your organization in today's fast-paced business landscape. With DrogoAI, you gain access to a comprehensive platform that seamlessly integrates strategy, team collaboration, and data analysis, revolutionizing the way you approach decision-making and execution.-->

> In an era where adaptability is key to success, DrogoAI offers more than just a static plan; it provides an Always-On Strategy that continually evolves to meet the dynamic demands of your industry. By harnessing the power of real-time feedback and insights, DrogoAI transforms your strategy into a dynamic engine for growth, ensuring that you remain agile and responsive to market changes.

> Whether you're a visionary startup charting new territory, a mid-sized business striving for expansion, or a large enterprise navigating disruptive forces, DrogoAI offers a suite of multifunctional tools tailored to your needs. From enhancing productivity and combating procrastination to fostering accountability within your teams, DrogoAI equips you with the resources necessary to stay ahead of the competition.

> Experience the difference with DrogoAI and unlock the full potential of your organization. Visit www.drogo.ai to embark on your journey towards sustainable growth and success.




While objectives and key results (OKRs) can improve accountability and visibility, enmeshing OKRs and performance management can deter progress and encourage wrong behaviors. To help you achieve this, this article will cover everything you need to know about making OKRs and performance management work for your business.

Essential Guide to OKRs and Performance Management



Tracking performance metrics provides a way for businesses to measure growth and development. Productivity, profit margin, scope and cost are some examples of performance metrics that a business can track to determine if target objectives and goals are being met.

There are different areas of a business, and each area will have its own key performance metrics.In this article, we’ll discuss what performance metrics are, why you should track them and four types of key performance metrics.

#### What are performance metrics?

Performance metrics are measurable data used to track processes within a business using activities, employee behavior and productivity as key metrics. These metrics track and measure the achievement of overall business goals.

Performance metrics are a collection of data that employers evaluate against an established objective (like employee productivity or sales objectives). It is important to note the difference between a performance metric and a key performance indicator (KPI).

Performance metrics are measured within an area of a business against an established objective or goal. Performance metrics result in broader data than a key performance indicator.

A KPI will use a specific target metric to measure performance. For example, a performance metric might measure the productivity of a marketing department compared to a set goal, whereas a KPI would measure how a marketing department contributed to sales from an email campaign.

### Why track performance metrics?

Tracking these performance metrics is important because it can benefit an organization by providing valuable information on what is working to drive growth and profit. 

Performance metrics aid in implementing strategies for meeting objectives across all aspects of an organization. Tracking performance metrics can drive planning for improvements, adjustments and changes to a business’s processes to meet goals

### Types of performance metrics to track

An organization uses performance management strategies by tracking metrics that measure areas such as sales, project management, employee productivity and overall business processes.

Within each of these business performance areas are metrics that measure different key aspects. For example, sales metrics are a type of business performance metric that measures sales data.

Most businesses track a common group of performance metrics to measure success and meet objectives. Good performance metrics should provide data that can be applied right away to reach business goals. The following are important metrics businesses use to track performance in each area.
1. Business performance metrics
2. Sales performance metrics
3. Project management performance metrics 
4. Employee performance metrics

#### 1. Business performance metrics 

Business performance metrics track and assess specific processes within a business, such as sales, marketing and profitability. This allows for comparing data against established objectives or goals.

The resulting data from tracking performance metrics helps businesses determine where to make adjustments to reach set goals. Three important metrics to track within the overall growth of a business include:

**ROI indicators**: ROI indicators are important metrics to track because this data can determine whether an investment will result in a return (profit) or not. Tracking ROI can help businesses decide which investments are worth pursuing and which are not. For example, an investment that guarantees a return rate of 20% offers a greater ROI compared to one that can only ensure a return of 10%.

**Profitability**: Profitability is an essential performance metric that tracks a business’s profit margin and compares that data to target goals. This can help determine if any adjustments are necessary to reach those goals. For instance, a business can use profitability metrics to track its average profit margin compared to its goal profit margin. The company can use this data to change sales methods used to generate profit.

**Productivity**: Productivity metrics measure the ratio of work generated to the resources used. For example, an assembly line employee who can produce 100 items in an hour is more productive than one who can only produce 50 items in an hour.

#### 2. Sales performance metrics 

Sales metrics measure an individual’s or a team’s performance in sales of a business’s products or services. Common sales performance metrics can include sales action, lead generation and retention and key performance indicators like total revenue and customer reach.

Companies track sales metrics by comparing these actions to sales goals the team or company sets. Monitoring each area will provide valuable insight into how a business’s sales methods are working.

Key sales performance metrics include:

**Activity**: Activity metrics provide data on what a business’s salespeople are doing daily. Sales managers can influence sales activity (like implementing daily sales quotas or a minimum number of sales phone calls), making it manageable to track. Sales activity is measured through metrics like the number of calls made or emails and proposals sent to prospects.

**Lead generation**: Lead generation metrics are important to track so businesses can assess the prospect stage of acquiring new sales. Average lead response time and percentage of follow-ups are two examples of good lead generation metrics to track in sales.

**Sales productivity**: Sales productivity metrics track the rate at which a salesperson or team meets revenue goals. The less time it takes for a revenue goal to be met, the higher the sales productivity. Data such as time spent on selling activities and the average number of sales tools used during that time are examples of sales performance metrics.


#### 3. Project management performance metrics

Project management performance metrics are used to measure the effectiveness and profitability of a project. From the first assignment brief to its completion, the processes within each stage of a project are measured and compared to goals and objectives. This data can offer insight into how the project should be completed. A project manager typically tracks performance metrics from areas including: 

**Productivity**: Tracking productivity provides data that enables a project manager to assess resources used to complete the project and total effort made within the project parameters.

**Scope of work**: Metrics that measure a project’s scope provide data that can help determine the timeline and budget needed to complete the project.

**Quality and satisfaction**: Quality and satisfaction metrics measure the quality of the project’s deliverable at its completion and include customer-centric data.

**Cost**: Cost metrics are key performance metrics to track in project management. Cost management needs to account for any unexpected variables that could arise during the project timeline.

**Gross margin**: Gross margin is the difference between the total cost of the project and the revenue it generates for an organization. Gross margin is a key performance metric and is usually targeted at the beginning of a project, keeping the process focused on a set revenue goal. 


#### 4. Employee performance metrics 

Employee performance metrics assess employees’ productivity and efficiency in reaching established benchmarks that contribute to the overall growth of a business. Tracking employee performance metrics helps managers can influence adjustments or make necessary improvements to help employees reach their work goals.

Common employee performance metrics that businesses track include: 

**Quality**: Work quality metrics are used to measure the quality of employee performance. Subjective appraisal is the best-known metric to measure work quality as it breaks down broader business goals into smaller, individual employee goals that can be achieved with support from management.

**Quantity**: Work quantity is another employee performance metric to track as it is easier to measure than quality. Common metrics measured include number of sales or items produced.

**Efficiency**: Work efficiency metrics combine data from work quality and quantity to track the resources used to produce an output. The time or money it takes to produce a product is an example of a work efficiency metric to track.

**Productivity**: Employee productivity is a key performance metric that can help businesses change processes, behavior and meet target goals.



### Conclusion

It's pretty hard to improve anything you can't measure measure. Measuring the wrong things aren't also superhelpful and can sometimes be a net-negative since it wastes time and focus.

This article details 4 key areas you should be measuring in your business, and different metrics you coul d measure.

[Drogo](https://drogo.ai) helps you assign specific KPIs and goals to employees, and automatically track progress made on them.


Tracking performance metrics provides a way for businesses to measure growth and development. Productivity, profit margin, scope and cost are some examples of performance metrics that a business can track to determine if target objectives and goals are being met. This article explores what metrics you should be tracking, and how to best track.

4 Types of Key Performance Metrics To Track In Your Business


In a survey conducted by Statista, a whole 42% of respondents admitted that their poor time management was one of the leading obstacles preventing them from achieving their goals.

Having bad time management habits puts you at risk of procrastinating a lot more, getting burnt out, and giving yourself stress and anxiety, amongst many other consequences.
Of course, this would be why you would be actively searching for time management techniques that actually work and are not just a bunch of baloney.
In this article, I will be exploring 5 time management techniques that actually work.

You might also want to read about the [10 productivity hacks I know actually work](https://blog.drogo.ai/en/blog/productivity-hacks-10-ways-to-stay-productive-and-overcome-common-productivity-challenges)

## 5 time management techniques that work

### 1. The Pomodoro technique

![a stop clock](https://res.cloudinary.com/hera-marketing/image/upload/v1684487929/drogo_images/xdh8lwokjktur4kdz756.jpg)

This technique involves working for a 25-minute period and then taking a 5-minute break. This is expected to go on for 4 intervals and then after the 4th time, you go ahead to take a longer break, say between a 15-30 minute break.

This technique helps you to maintain your concentration and helps you avoid getting burnt out.
In a study published in the International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, researchers found that the Pomodoro technique significantly improved the quality of work and overall productivity of software developers. The study revealed more specifically, that the developers who used the technique completed more tasks, and reported less mental fatigue compared to those that didn’t use the technique.

### 2. The Eat-the-frog technique

![a green frog](https://res.cloudinary.com/hera-marketing/image/upload/v1684487819/drogo_images/kmoydz8qqz5ri2yxjcnx.jpg)

Imagine eating a frog.
Exactly.

In a study conducted by the University of Texas, at Austin, it was found that people who used the eat-the-frog technique for their time management were more satisfied with their work-life balance than those who didn’t.
This time management technique involves tackling your most difficult task first thing in the morning. The idea of this is that if you do the most unpleasant or difficult thing first thing, you get the worst thing out of the way and focus on the rest of your tasks for the rest of the day.
Here’s a breakdown of how it works;
Say it’s a Sunday, make a list of all the things you have to do on Monday
Identify the most difficult, most unpleasant of them, and that will be your frog
Wake up the next morning and eat that frog (get the task done) then go on with your day.

This time management technique helps you get more done in less time, fight procrastination, and even improve your mood.

### 3. Time batching

David Allen, in his book, Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-free Productivity, talked about how with time batching, you get more into a rhythm and get more results in less time.
This time management technique involves grouping similar tasks and working on them in the same time period. For example, if as a social media manager and you have to create a series of reports for both social media posts and reply to some important emails, you can decide to group these tasks by their type into different blocks of time during the day. So you’d have a specific time for your report tasks and another time for you to reply to and send out emails.
The time batching technique helps you build your focus, make sure no tasks slip through the cracks, and reduce the overwhelming feeling you get when you have a lot to do.

### 4. Eisenhower matrix

Named after the 34th president of the United States and five-star general of the U.S. Army, Dwight D. Eisenhower, this technique involves breaking down your tasks into a quadrant; 4 categories, like this;

**Urgent and Important** : These are the tasks that need to be done right away. They are usually the most time-sensitive and have the biggest impact.

**Not Urgent but Important** : These are the tasks that don't need to be done right away, but they are still important. They may not have a big impact right away, but they can have a big impact in the long run.

**Urgent but Not Important** : These are the tasks that are not important, but they seem like they are because they are time-sensitive. They can often be delegated or eliminated.

**Not Urgent and Not Important** : These are the tasks that are neither important nor time-sensitive. They can usually be eliminated or delegated.

The tasks in the top left quadrant (Urgent and Important) should be your top priority. These are the tasks that will have the greatest impact on your goals.
Tasks in the bottom right quadrant (Not Urgent and Not Important) can usually be eliminated or delegated.
The tasks in the top right quadrant (Urgent but Not Important) should be delegated or eliminated. These aren't important tasks, but they appear to be because they are time-sensitive.
The tasks in the bottom left quadrant (Not Urgent but Important) should be scheduled for a time when you will be able to devote your full attention to them.

### 5. Single-tasking

![bleachers, with one of the seats painted red for focus](https://res.cloudinary.com/hera-marketing/image/upload/v1684487906/drogo_images/vfzdoxdeaa8fgpobydfa.jpg)

Steven Covey, the author of The 7 Habits of Highly effective people, testified to the effectiveness of single-tasking as a time management technique, highlighting how he noticed people are more prone to making mistakes when they try to multitask.
Also, a study conducted at Stanford University found that individuals who multitasked had more trouble organizing their thoughts, filtering out irrelevant information, paying attention, and, surprisingly, switching between tasks compared to those who focused on a single task at a time.
When you focus on one task at a time, you get more work done in way less time, and you are overall, more productive.

## Wrapping up

One other way to build your time management skills is by incorporating a good, thorough, and easy-to-use project management tool that lightens your workload. When you’re not so scared of how much you need to do, it can inspire you to actually invest in your time management skills and better your productivity. [Drogo](drogo.ai) is an example of a project management tool with your best interests at heart. Give us a shot and see for yourself.


In a survey conducted by Statista, a whole 42% of respondents admitted that their poor time management was one of the leading obstacles preventing them from achieving their goals. Having bad time management habits puts you at risk of procrastinating a lot more, getting burnt out, and giving yourself stress and anxiety, amongst many other consequences. In this article, I will be exploring 5 time management techniques that actually work.

5 time management techniques that actually Work


Internships are where it’s at if you’re an individual fresh from university, college, or an online course completion. It is one of the most crucial steps you need to take to build a successful career. This is why the competition for these opportunities is as fierce as it comes. 
Here’s some proof to go along with that: an online survey conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers in the U.S. found that just 56.1% of graduating seniors applied for an internship and received at least one offer. What this means is that up to half of those other graduating seniors got nothing in terms of internships. 

In this article, I will be sharing with you 5 fail-proof ways to increase your chances of scoring that internship you’ve always wanted. 

## 5 fail-proof ways to score that internship you’ve always wanted

### 1. Start early
By start early, I mean before you are done with your learning program, start looking up internships that you have been thinking about and would be a great fit for you. This has the potential of giving you the upper hand in the search for gainful internships in your field. 

### 2. Do your research
![someone holding papers](https://res.cloudinary.com/hera-marketing/image/upload/v1684452541/drogo_images/ejwxhuxip6x0umjpl8y9.jpg)

In another survey conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) in the U.S, 72% of employers said that they were more likely to hire a candidate who had done their research on the company.
If you go out on a limb and start applying to different places, you risk waiting for longer than you’re supposed to and hitting duds all at the same time. 
Before you apply for that internship position you’ve had your sights on, ensure you do some very thorough research on the company; focus on its website, its social media, the company’s values, its work culture, and the specific position you’re applying for, for example, do your research on the UI/UX position and its requirements. 

### 3. Network!
![a blackboard with networking written on it](https://res.cloudinary.com/hera-marketing/image/upload/v1684452398/drogo_images/rrevmejzfrifxizjbizo.jpg)

Networking is one of the most talked about ways to get to the big places in corporate life, and for good reason. In a 2016 study by CareerBuilder that surveyed over 3,000 hiring managers, it was revealed that a whopping 70% of jobs are never advertised. Only 30% of jobs were advertised, and the rest were filled through employee referrals, networking, or other means. 
This same survey also found that networking was the most common way to find a job, with 44% of jobs being obtained through the process of networking. 
You can network by reaching out to key players in your industry, or that friend you have that got an internship similar to the one you are vying for and connecting with them. You can do this when you attend fairs and events in your industry or on career apps like LinkedIn. 

### 4. Tailor your application to the role you’re applying for
![papers on a desk](https://res.cloudinary.com/hera-marketing/image/upload/v1684452473/drogo_images/fv56pizqrrvlwparr1sf.jpg)

Say you’re fresh off finishing multiple UI/UX courses with certifications to match. But then your resume is tailored more to the role of a web developer. What you need to do is fix up your resume to match the role you’re applying for, highlighting your skills and the fact that you have the specific requirements the job demands. What this does is show that you have read and understood the job description thoroughly. After all that is done, you might want to look into a resume review by a professional or AI tool. 

### 5. Practice for your interview. 
When all the previous steps eventually come through, and you are granted an interview for the position you have applied to, the next course of action would be to prepare adequately for it. You wouldn’t want to go for your interview and start mumbling or talking with too many fillers as that would cause many workplaces to reconsider. 
Research common interview questions and their answers, dress professionally, and make sure to arrive on time. 

## Wrapping up 
These tips increase your chances of scoring that internship you’ve had your sights on for the longest of times. However, remember that there are many people just like you, who are trying to get that same type of internship, and are putting these same tips into practice, it’s definitely not easy. But one thing is sure, it will click when it clicks. Good luck!



Internships are where it’s at if you’re an individual fresh from university, college, or an online course completion. It is one of the most crucial steps you need to take to build a successful career. In this article, I will be sharing with you 5 fail-proof ways to increase your chances of scoring that internship you’ve always wanted.

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