“A resourceful person can see opportunity when others only see obstacles.”
-Garrett Gunderson
Human has a large capacity for everything. We are always busy doing small little things although we have a huge capacity like bulldozer. It is not the lack of resources that hampers your progress but the resourcefulness. There are number of things which may be useful to resolve a particular issue but you may be lacking how and when to use the available resources.
Do Not Judge The Strength Of Others
When I used to read self help books from eminent writers and when some of my friends asked to read them, I always said that you may not understand the language the author has written. It was my myth and prejudice that once I was not able to understand and frequently took the help of dictionary, everybody has difficulty in reading English version of title. Later on, I understood that those who had studied in English medium had fluency in subject literature. Another myth I had about the speed of reading. I thought I can take whole month to read a title, how can others finish in a month. In fact, I had few friends who were able to finish the book in a week. One of my close friends from my hometown even finished a fiction book in single sitting.
So, it is better to understand that your adjustment problems of improper habits are not universal. They are specific to your style. I share this kind of experience because the facts which took several months to realize may be accomplished in few weeks or days in your case so that you can save your useful time.
Leave The Prejudice
We have become habitual of our style and habits in most of the cases and hardly learn from others. Even we can learn from the child. Recently when I was teaching math tricks to one of my close relatives, I learnt lot many things from him and noted for implementation while teaching to others.
When I used to teach some of the learning techniques to my children, I emphasized certain skills which may be useful to them and get success which I thought I have achieved. One of my children refused his style and later on earn money in his profession almost five time more than I earned.
Whether it is etiquettes of email, communication style or some of the habits of speech and body languages there is always room for learning. Cricketers and sportsmen frequently watch their own videos and learn from their mistakes and gradually progress towards their predetermined standard. The more refined habits learnt from other may fetch lot of benefits and save your precious time.
Utilize Your Available Resources To The Fullest
I had purchased a Six Pack Equipment to improve belly fat. It was very much interesting for few days but later on it was ideal like ‘kit lay out’ of my other sports material. It was reused after listening to an impactful video for its benefits which impressed me to make use of subject equipment.
A decade ago, I purchased a beautiful title in regional language called “Paralysis” written by Chandrakant Bakshi. One of my close friends took it from me read and returned. I forgot the book for few months and added with other good books in my cupboard. My friend used to share golden nuggets from the book time to time. One fine day when I asked him, “From where you get this kind of amazing tips?” He disclosed that it was the same book which I had offered him for reading!
I had purchased more than two dozen of paid software during my grinding phase of digital learning. However, I could hardly make use of them to the fullest. Although it is always advised not to be cheap on your journey to the greatness. But it is better to purchase subject software which are extremely useful and you can make use of them regularly. For instance, if the validity of software is one year and if you have not made use of it for several months, you are at loss.
I learnt from a beautiful article[i] “achieve excellence in performance management” Let me share tips mentioned to manage resources which may do wonders for you.
1. Plan to Plan
Planning is important when it comes to being efficient. Time is money and it is best to plan for effective resource management from the very beginning of projects. When starting a project, planning should be first on your to-do list. It is via planning that you will be able to fully gauge the types and number of resources you will be requiring. Many projects fail because businesses end up investing in too many or too few resources.
After figuring out what you will need, you can then plan their use by dividing the project up into stages.
Identify resources that are needed for completion of the project. Add to the list any resources you will be requiring, whether it is in the first stage of completion or the last.
Analyze and put up an estimate of the time each resource needs and its role in completion of a particular task.
Go through the outline of the entire project and ensure that no resource is left out.
Finalize the list of resources and their details before the project can officially begin. It is essential to have the list ready for everyone to see so that the details are clear in everyone’s minds and the risks of confusion are reduced.
2. Take a Systematic Approach
One of the most effective ways of using resources and minimizing their use at work when possible is by adopting a systematic approach. This can be achieved by:
Setting a baseline — Using your previous performance as a base for improvement will help pave the path for productivity.
Benchmarking your performance — Comparing your own performance against that of similar companies (preferably your competitors).
Forming an action strategy — Once the prospective improvements have been highlighted, it is time to form an action scheme about how to accomplish them.
Fixing targets and responsibilities — While setting targets ensure that they are achievable in the allocated time by the employees.
Observing and reporting — Set up reporting procedures and measure your performance at regular intervals to ensure that you are on track.
Reviewing actions and performance — This step will ensure that you keep learning and improving.
3. Use Technology Where Possible
The use of technology goes a long way in speeding and easing up processes significantly. Any feature of the project that can be completed using technology should be automated. This will in turn minimize the risk of mistakes occurring and free up manpower that can then be reallocated to other projects.
Using technology ensures efficient allocation of resources. There is less wastage and more effective usage of resources. Technology will show you exactly what’s needed so you use specific resources, leaving others free to be utilized for the completion of other projects.
The implementation of automated procedures will revolutionize the running of projects and provide a more streamlined approach to resource planning and management. Any automated processes must be initially tried and tested to ensure that there are no glitches, as slip-ups will add a heavy cost down the road.
The balance between technology and resource management is a key part of business development. The use of technology will make the running of the company much more efficient and allow several projects to run at the same time due to the resources that free up when technology is used instead of the assets.
4. Use Resource Management software
Resource management software is a useful tool to significantly enhance the operations of your business. Invest in resource management software that offers a long list of features tailored to boost resource management and improve the overall performance and productivity. One popular example is the Timewax resource software which allows managers to share the resource planning with their employees via the company’s calendar system or mobile application.
