It’s an important question with a huge impact on the overall efficiency, as well as on the efficiency of every employee.
So, when is the right time to assign a task?
As early as possible
or
As soon as the task becomes actionable
As early as possible sounds good, right? We can create an initial plan and immediately assign a responsible person for each task. The earlier, the better!
But imagine you are responsible for managing many activities from different projects, and you realize that several tasks cannot be completed today due to various reasons (late delivery of materials, no electricity, etc.). How much time would you waste in meetings, emails, and calls to understand the whats, whys, and whens? And now imagine the same pattern repeating tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, and so on.
That is why:
Tasks should be assigned as soon as they become actionable. This approach will decrease communication noise and will turn task lists into trustable sources.