There is hardly any doubt that now is a thrilling time to own a food truck business. But, with only only so many hours in a day, food truck vendors find themselves having to put their strategic goals aside to accommodate for the more time-pressing tasks that arise. Today we’ll present you with the ABC method for task management to help you get things done.

ABC Method For Task Management

The ABC method for task management is a great way to manage what is most important and what is most urgent. It’s a simple, yet powerful method of managing the events of your business involves moving beyond the traditional to-do list. The focus of this method is to move from crisis management and putting out fires, toward doing, on a daily basis, those things that are most important to you.

Make a List

First make a list of everything you want to accomplish today. Don’t give any value to anything on the list at this point. Simply unload onto a piece of paper or planner the things that you want and need to do. At this point, it may look a lot like a traditional to-do list.

Give Each Item An ABC Value

Once you have your list of tasks, begin to label each according to their importance using letters then designate urgency using numbers.

  • ‘A’ tasks are used for big projects or more strategic responsibilities. Put an ‘A’ next to each item on your list that must be done. These are the vital things that have the highest amount of importance to you.
  • ‘B’ tasks are ones that must be done but do not greatly impact the bottom line. Place a ‘B’ by each item that should be done today. These are items with some importance to you. An example of a ‘B’ item might be filling your truck with gas when it still has a quarter of a tank left.
  • ‘C’ tasks do not affect the day-to-day, and nothing will be lost if it isn’t completed. The items on your list that will get a ‘C’ are those tasks that have very little importance to you. These items could be done, but won’t suffer at all if they are not.

Give Each Item An 123 Value

The next in this task management process is to give a numerical value to each item on the list based on its urgency to you.

Now, move through the “A” items and compare each one. Ask yourself which of these very important items is the most important of all. That item gets a “1” next to the “A” so it becomes “A1” on your list. Proceed through each of the A’s until you have given a ranking to each. Then proceed to the B’s and then the C’s.

  • 1’s need to be done immediately or today.
  • 2’s may have a timeline or due date but have some wiggle room.
  • 3’s can be put off until the next day or rescheduled.

On most days, you won’t finish everything that you put on your list. In fact, you rarely do. You will have meetings, work obligations, and interruptions that may drastically reduce the amount of free time that you can work on the things on your list. The biggest value of this task management system happens when we do have time where we can choose between several activities. It is in those parts of the day that you should go to the top of your list, your A1 item, and work from there.

RELATED: Setting Goals For Your Food Truck Business

The Bottom Line

There will always be more things to do than time to do them. Sometimes you must forego something you would like to do in favor of something that has to be done to accomplish your business objectives. This is why task management is so important to your food truck. Don’t fail to plan. If you do, plan to fail.

How do you handle task management in your food truck? Share your thoughts on this topic in the comment section or social  media. Facebook | Twitter