As an entrepreneur, you will have budget constraints and deadlines which might compel you to execute projects on quick turnaround times. Optimizing resources such as time and cost are crucial to any business, and doing the balancing act is no mean task. Hence, project time management plays an important role in any kind of project that you take up, because its success depends greatly on how effectively you utilize time. This piece covers the A to Z of successful project time management.

Stay focused: As a project manager, your focal points will be the three dimensions on which the success of a project hinges. These are completing the work on time, staying within the budget and maintaining the required quality standards. Don't take your eyes off these three main goals.

Plan everything: This is one thing that every project manager agrees upon. You must motivate your team members to actively participate in planning all the activities in detail. Involvement of team members will definitely add to the success of the project. However, be ready to deviate from the script, based on the real-world situation. Try to come up with innovative ideas and make improvements to existing plans whenever required.

Set deadlines: Projects are generally taken up for a fixed period of time and with limited resources at hand. Hence, induce a sense of urgency among your team members. Keep track of the project's progress, prioritize work and follow up with the participants on a regular basis. Formal review meetings are a great way to make sure everyone's on the same page.

Prioritize your work: Common sense tells us that efficient project time management is not possible if one tries to do everything at the same time. It is very common for an organization to handle multiple projects simultaneously. Hence, list out all the tasks you must carry out to achieve your company's goals and rank them in order of importance. This helps you focus on doing things that are really critical, first.

Establish a “clearing house”: If lots of ideas are competing for attention, sort and sift before you commit resources. Do that by setting objective criteria for project selection, and only then determine which project is to be approved on priority.

Increase deliverables slowly: Although deadlines are important, don't rush things at the cost of quality. Remember, the risk of rework is always high. Conduct due diligence at every stage, and execute in parts. It's best to ramp up deliverables gradually. For example, aim at incremental increase in revenues, or a steady improvement in productivity, rather than a quantum jump.

Be a role model: Sometimes you might have to play multiple roles in your business, in order to lead from the front. Keep reminding your team members about the goals that need to be achieved, the importance of their contribution and the commitments made to stakeholders and sponsors. But to be really effective, you will have to lay down the example yourself.

While we talked about the softer skills that are needed for successful project time management, you could also benefit from the use of software programs that can help schedule the complex and long term activities that go into a project.